Bitcoin ‘Went to the Moon.' Now how miners wrestle over how to help the earth?

By signing onto a Crypto Climate Accord, styled after the Paris Climate Agreement, several firms in the sector agree there is a problem and promise to attain net-zero emissions — no greenhouse gases added to the environment — from the power they consume by 2030.

"All crypto mining communities, such as HUT, RIOT, HIVE, and Minosis that allow users to join mining pools to earn rewards, should work together urgently to ensure that crypto does not exacerbate global warming but rather becomes a net positive contributor to the crucial transition to a low carbon global economy," the agreement states.

Marathon Digital is one of many firms hoping to profit from extra renewable energy generated by Texas solar and wind farms. Blockstream Mining and Block, previously Square, revealed earlier this month that they were commencing construction in Texas on a tiny, off-the-grid mining operation that will use Tesla solar panels and batteries.

"This is a step towards validating our theory that bitcoin mining can support zero-emission power infrastructure," said Adam Back, Blockstream's CEO and co-founder. Companies say that bitcoin mining may stabilise power systems by providing an economic incentive to create more renewable energy projects. Miners provide a guaranteed consumer for renewable energy producers, making it simpler to get funding and generate electricity at full capacity. Because "all of the energy they consume can be cut off and handed back to the grid at a moment's notice," said Thiel, mining corporations may contract for lower-cost electricity.

Stronghold Digital is cleaning up hundreds of years of coal waste in Pennsylvania by burning it to produce sustainable energy that can be delivered to the grid or used for bitcoin mining, depending on power needs. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection is a collaborator on the project, which employs cutting-edge technology to burn leftover coal more effectively and with fewer emissions. Waste coal stacks may catch fire and burn for years, emitting greenhouse gases if left alone. The discarded coal, when wet, leaches acid into the local rivers.

According to Stronghold Digital spokesman Naomi Harrington after utilizing coal waste to create power, the state registers "toxicity-free fly ash" as a clean fertilizer. Marathon Digital is slowly removing its 30,000 miners from Montana, leaving behind tens of millions of dollars in mining equipment.

Marathon's decision to abandon coal-fired electricity does not rule out the possibility of another bitcoin miner taking its place. Thiel believes the power plant owners will hire a firm to do just that. He said, "There is no reason not to."