Greenpeace Halts Anti-Bitcoin Mining Campaign

The environmental organization GreenpeaceUSA has quietly concluded its “Change the Code” campaign aimed at combating pollution from cryptocurrency mining. This was reported by Bitcoin researcher Daniel Batten.

According to his observations, the environmentalists have not released new press statements or posts for over six months. The X account (@cleanupbitcoin) has been inactive since January 2024.

Moreover, no other branch of Greenpeace publicly supported the initiative of the American division.

Batten also noted that the organization’s director, Josh Archer, left GreenpeaceUSA to join a new forest protection project, Stand. Other environmental activists like Sierra Club, Earthjustice, and EWG have not mentioned Bitcoin on social media for over a year.

The author suggested reflecting on the “lessons learned” and recalling the community’s struggle with the “greens.” He highlighted May 2021, when Elon Musk tweeted about “environmental concerns” regarding Bitcoin, causing the coin’s price to plummet to $13,800.

At the same time, Alex de Vries published now-debunked comments against mining, and the press disseminated his erroneous research, Batten noted. In March 2022, Ripple co-founder Chris Larsen allocated $5 million to GreenpeaceUSA to launch the anti-Bitcoin campaign.

“But soon GreenpeaceUSA realized they had bitten off more than they could chew,” wrote the expert.

The organization faced three main issues it could not resolve:

1. Arguments that Bitcoin is harmful to the environment due to the reopening of fossil fuel power plants and coal use were proven incorrect.
2. The organization’s strategy relied on inciting moral outrage against large corporations, which could be shamed into making “environmental concessions,” but this approach failed.
3. Environmental activists underestimated the conviction and strength of Bitcoin defenders, who were already “battle-hardened from years of gaslighting.”

Batten also pointed out that even the creator of the “Skull of Satoshi” artwork changed his stance on Bitcoin after engaging with environmental advocates within the crypto industry.

“For GreenpeaceUSA, it was a painful campaign. They spent $5 million to no avail: zero Bitcoin code changed, zero lobbied financial institutions altered their stance. On the contrary, many millennials and Gen Z turned away from the organization,” emphasized the researcher.

In January 2024, GreenpeaceUSA criticized the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s decision regarding spot Bitcoin ETFs.