Il consumo di energia elettrica causato dall’estrazione del bitcoin e i suoi impatti ambientali sono diventati un problema non trascurabile e potrebbero anche minare gli sforzi globali per contrastare i cambiamenti climatici. Lo attesta un’analisi delle emissioni di carbonio dovute alla blockchain del bitcoin in Cina, Paese dove si concentrano i tre quarti delle attività […]
![epa06262776 YEARENDER 2017 PHOTO ESSAYS
(04/26) Bitcoin miner Huang inspects a malfunctioning mining machine during his night shift at the Bitcoin mine in Sichuan Province, China, 26 September 2016. Miners can check a machine's condition and operations using phones and personal computers. For most issues, they can simply restart a machine. 'If it's a complicated problem, we just ship it to the factory and let them fix it,' Huang said.
China is one the main exchange market of bitcoins although the digital currency exists in a legal limbo and prone to speculation. The country hosts some of the biggest 'mining pools' in the world, clusters of supercomputers which task is minting new bitcoins and maintaining the system, sometimes installed in shady places close to power plants. Sichuan has become known as 'the capital of bitcoin mining' as entrepreneurial Chinese set up 'mines' there due to its abundance of hydropower, perfect for the high electricity needs of the large number of computers required for Bitcoin mining. Bitcoin mines are buildings with warehouse-like structures equipped with massive numbers of microprocessors with which 'miners' solve complex math problems and are rewarded in the digital currency.
The industry exists in a legal gray zone in China, and the miners in this story, concerned about attention from the government, asked not to have their full names or the names of the villages where their mines are located mentioned in this story. EPA/LIU XINGZHE/CHINAFILE ATTENTION: For the full PHOTO ESSAY text please see Advisory Notice epa06062671 *** Local Caption *** 53622070](https://st.ilfattoquotidiano.it/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/13/mining-bitcoin-1200x630.jpg)
L’estrazione di Bitcoin divora più energia dell’Italia. Ma c’è una via sostenibile per le cripto
In Cina si concentrano tre quarti delle “miniere” mondiali di criptovaluta, ma la combinazione tra energia prodotta dal carbone e computer sempre più potenti per estrarla potrebbe mettere in crisi l'accordo di Parigi sul clima. Altre blockchain, come Ethereum, stanno correndo ai ripari