Illustration of a Bitcoin.
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STRF / STAR MAX / IPx / AP / SIPA
Bill Gates recently expressed concern about the environmental cost of Bitcoin.
The dangers to the environment posed by virtual currency are all the more worrying given that the latter is arousing growing enthusiasm, especially from large American companies, notes the
New York Times
.
"It is not at all good for the climate," said the billionaire on Tuesday in the daily.
The Microsoft co-founder explained that his reservations about Bitcoin stem, among other things, from the fact that electronic currency "consumes more electricity per transaction than any other payment method ever used."
Bill Gates did not say he was fundamentally opposed to Bitcoin, however.
The ecological weight of currency in the world bothers him more than the concept of cryptocurrency itself.
Greener production methods?
“If it's green electricity and it doesn't monopolize usable resources for other things, in the end, you know, maybe it can be okay,” he said during the interview.
There are disagreements among experts regarding the precise extent of the carbon footprint of the activities required to create and operate the Bitcoin system.
All agree, however, that it is important.
However, studies have shown that the annual emission of carbon dioxide due to the electricity consumed for mining and processing virtual currency is equivalent to that of Argentina or New Zealand.
Entrepreneurs around the world are increasingly interested in Bitcoin, but environmental concerns are also occupying a growing place in their minds.
The authors of the article therefore raise the possibility that this awareness is orienting the cryptocurrency sector towards more ecological production methods.
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