Ark Invest founder: Bitcoin will be greener than the traditional financial services sector

Over time, Bitcoin will become more environmentally friendly than the traditional financial services sector and the gold mining industry. This was stated by Ark Invest founder Cathie Wood at the conference The B Word.

“In many respects, this is already the case. And it will only get better,” she added.

According to Wood, most institutional investors endorse ESG principles. She noted that the first cryptocurrency could become socially meaningful by giving residents in unbanked regions access to payment technologies.

The Ark founder stressed that the social component of digital gold is broader than commonly thought within the community. She drew attention to the transparency of the blockchain and its ability to hedge against a decline in purchasing power.

“Saving them [people] from a decline in purchasing power is, undoubtedly, a noble social goal,” she added.

Alongside Wood at the event were Jack Dorsey and Elon Musk. The latter said he personally owns Bitcoin, Ethereum and Dogecoin. He also announced investments by SpaceX in the first cryptocurrency.

Musk noted that Tesla could have negatively affected the growth in electricity consumption by the network of digital gold. After investments by the company in the asset, its price reached a new all-time high.

“Since Tesla announced that it bought Bitcoin and participates in Bitcoin transactions, there has been a significant rise in the price, and the amount of energy used for mining has also increased,” he said.

Musk emphasised that he understands renewable energy well. He said that green initiatives will not make cryptocurrency mining “as clean as snow,” but production should not be powered by “the dirtiest coal in the world.”

In May, Tesla paused selling electric vehicles for digital gold because of concerns about the environmental sustainability of mining. Musk said the company would probably resume BTC payments.

Dorsey was more restrained on ESG-related issues, but said that Bitcoin “will help create a world across the globe.” In his words, the current financial system distracts society from more important problems.

“I believe the idea is to have money that is reliable and independent from the state. What can be verified by everyone, including governments, corporations, developers and private individuals, is very powerful,” he added.

Earlier, Dorsey said Square would launch a business aimed at creating an open platform for developers of non-custodial, inclusive and decentralized financial services.

The payments company is working on a hardware wallet and a service for storing Bitcoin.

Read ForkLog’s Bitcoin news on our Telegram — cryptocurrency news, prices and analysis.