Billionaire Tom Steyer sees Bitcoin as an environmental threat

American billionaire, politician and environmental advocate Tom Steyer, in an interview with Yahoo Finance, called Bitcoin “a huge consumer of electricity” and a threat to the environment due to the dependence of energy grids on fossil fuels.

Steyer acknowledged that with a shift to renewable energy, Bitcoin would no longer be such a destructive force. He criticised enterprises that seek cheap “dirty” energy to maximise profits.

Discussions about Bitcoin mining’s environmental impact intensified after Tesla decided to suspend sales of electric cars for Bitcoin due to the use of fossil-fuel energy for its mining.

Later, Elon Musk said that Tesla will resume sales for BTC when it receives confirmation that at least half of miners use renewable energy.

Founder and head of the BTC.TOP mining pool Jiang Zhuoer replied to him, saying that as a result of China’s crackdown on mining, more than half of Bitcoin’s hash rate is now generated using green energy.

Musk has repeatedly spoken on this topic, and according to a survey, his tweets about the harm of mining digital gold to the environment have had a negative impact on investor sentiment.

In July, Bitcoin Mining Council, created by American miners, concluded that the share of renewable energy in the global Bitcoin mining industry stood at 56%.

In the community critics criticised the study, doubting its objectivity.

Earlier this month Bloomberg, citing the Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index, reported that Bitcoin miners’ electricity consumption had surpassed 2020 levels.

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