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Bitcoin’s growing water footprint

Reference Type: 

Journal Article

Vries, Alex de. 2024. “Bitcoin’s Growing Water Footprint.” Cell Reports Sustainability 1 (1): 100004. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.crsus.2023.100004.

Amid growing concerns over the impacts of climate change on worldwide water security, Bitcoin’s water footprint has rapidly escalated in recent years. The water footprint of Bitcoin in 2021 significantly increased by 166% compared with 2020, from 591.2 to 1,573.7 GL. The water footprint per transaction processed on the Bitcoin blockchain for those years amounted to 5,231 and 16,279 L, respectively. As of 2023, Bitcoin’s annual water footprint may equal 2,237 GL. To address this increasing water footprint, miners could apply immersion cooling and consider using power sources that do not require freshwater. A change in the Bitcoin software could also significantly reduce the network’s water footprint.

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