Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, is still very interested in cryptocurrencies. He has had the opportunity to engage with executives from various American mining companies who aim to be virtuous about the energy consumed by their activities. Renewable energies are emerging as a new way to make Bitcoin more eco-friendly.
Elon Musk Wants Eco-Responsible Bitcoins
The highly publicized Tesla CEO, Elon Musk, closely follows the developments in the cryptocurrency market. Recently, he caused panic after his statements on May 18th, indicating that his company would no longer accept Bitcoin payments due to the environmental impact of mining. The specialized website Actufinance has discussed this situation.
On May 24th, Elon Musk noted on Twitter that he had spoken with various mining companies. Some wish to increase the share of renewable energy dedicated to this practice. The Tesla boss stated that this outlook was “potentially promising,” which is likely to delight Bitcoin holders.
More Energy Transparency in Cryptocurrency
Michael Saylor, CEO of MicroStrategy, is among the entrepreneurs who have conversed with Elon Musk. He indicated that miners have decided to form a “Bitcoin Mining Council” to become more transparent in terms of energy and to encourage initiatives for environmental preservation.
Elon Musk is pleased with this initiative, but much remains to be done. The system devised by Satoshi Nakamoto is clever because it allows for safe Bitcoin transactions without requiring a trusted third party. The problem is that this system relies on “proof of work,” which is very energy-intensive. In the coming years, projections concerning energy consumption for Bitcoin production show an upward trend.
Reducing Bitcoin’s Carbon Footprint
Mining with renewable energies would lead to a reduction in the carbon footprint associated with this activity. However, in some regions, it is not always possible to resort to these green resources. Meanwhile, Ethereum has taken this issue into account and indicated that it will move towards a different operational system with “proof of stake,” which requires less energy.
Hence, it is clear that one of the challenges for the sustainability of cryptocurrencies is their ability to address environmental concerns.
