Environmental Impact of Digital Currency Mining

Sunil Kumar () and Rajender S. Godara ()
Additional contact information
Sunil Kumar: Mittal School of Business, Lovely Professional University, Department of Economics
Rajender S. Godara: Mittal School of Business, Lovely Professional University, Department of Economics

Chapter Chapter 10 in Digital Currencies and the Green Economy, 2025, pp 187-202 from Springer

Abstract: Abstract This chapter insights into the environmental implications of digital currency mining, with a particular focus on widely used cryptocurrencies such as BitcoinBitcoin and Ethereum. It examines how mining activities contribute to environmental challenges, including excessive energy consumption, increased carbon emissions, and the growing problem of electronic wasteelectronic waste. As digital currency mining continues to expand globally, concerns over its sustainability and long-term environmental impact have become more pressing. The chapter not only highlights the negative environmental consequences of mining but also explores potential solutions to mitigate these issues. It discusses strategies for integrating more sustainable energy sources, like solar energy, wind energy, and hydroelectric into mining activities to reduce reliance on fossil fuels. Additionally, it emphasizes the importance of developing and implementing more energy-efficient mining hardwaremining hardware to minimize waste and lower overall energy consumption. Furthermore, this chapter examines the role of government intervention in shaping a more sustainable approach to cryptocurrency mining. It explores regulatory measures such as carbon taxes, transaction fees on mining activities, and policies promoting the use of renewable energy. The paper also discusses how governments can create incentives for miners to transition toward eco-friendly practices and ensure that the cryptocurrency industry aligns with global sustainability goals.

Keywords: A digital currency mining; Carbon taxes; Transaction fees on mining activities; Satoshi Nakamoto"Satoshi Nakamoto; Energy efficient consensus mechanismEnergy Efficient Consensus Mechanism (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

There are no downloads for this item, see the EconPapers FAQ for hints about obtaining it.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:sprchp:978-981-95-2282-8_10

Ordering information: This item can be ordered from
http://www.springer.com/9789819522828

DOI: 10.1007/978-981-95-2282-8_10

Access Statistics for this chapter

More chapters in Springer Books from Springer
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().