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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Technology
Alex Hern Technology editor

Crypto crash unlikely to reduce its climate impact, expert says

Digital coin mining hardware at Thailand Crypto Expo 2022 in Bangkok.
Digital coin mining hardware at Thailand Crypto Expo 2022 in Bangkok. Photograph: Adirach Toumlamoon/Pacific Press/Rex

The crypto crash will not reduce the sector’s climate impact any time soon, an economist has warned, even though the environmental footprint of digital currencies is in theory set by their market value.

“Unless bitcoin collapses further, there’s no reason to expect a decrease in environmental impact,” said Alex de Vries, a data scientist at the Dutch central bank and the founder of Digiconomist, which tracks the sustainability of cryptocurrency projects.

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