Bitcoin and Its Energy, Environmental, and Social Impacts: An Assessment of Key Research Needs in the Mining Sector

Autor: Murray A. Rudd, Lee Bratcher, Simon Collins, David Branscum, Matthew Carson, Shaun Connell, Elliot David, Magdalena Gronowska, Sebastien Hess, Austin Mitchell, Matt Prusak, Kyle Schneps, Maxim Serezhin, Scott A. Wolfe, Dennis Porter
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2023
Předmět:
Zdroj: Challenges, Vol 14, Iss 4, p 47 (2023)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 2078-1547
DOI: 10.3390/challe14040047
Popis: In this study, we used a combination of AI-assisted analysis of social media discourse and collaboration with industry experts to delve into the key research needs associated with the Bitcoin mining industry. We identified primary threats, opportunities, and research questions related to the Bitcoin mining industry and its wider impacts, focusing on its energy use and environmental footprint. Our findings spotlight the industry’s move towards increasingly greater energy efficiency and an emerging commitment to renewable energy, highlighting its potential to contribute to the coming energy transition. We underscore the transformative potential of emerging applications in the Bitcoin mining sector, especially regarding demand response, grid flexibility, and methane mitigation. We suggest that targeted research on Bitcoin can serve policymakers, private sector decision-makers, research funding agencies, environmental scientists, and the Bitcoin industry itself. We propose that filling key information gaps could help clarify the risks and benefits of Bitcoin mining by encouraging collaboration among researchers, policymakers, and industry stakeholders and conducting research that provides baseline peer-reviewed evidence surrounding Bitcoin’s production and impacts. A collaborative approach could help mitigate the risks and realize the benefits of Bitcoin mining, including potentially positive and substantive contributions in alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals.
Databáze: Directory of Open Access Journals