Climate killer blockchain Bitcoin blows more CO₂ into the air than the whole of Switzerland
The Bitcoin network currently has a CO2 footprint more than twice as large as that of Switzerland. This is shown by figures from the crypto portal Digiconomist.
31.05.2025, 07:30
31.05.2025, 08:50
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- The Bitcoin network generates around 98 million tons of CO₂ every year - more than twice as much as the whole of Switzerland.
- A single Bitcoin transaction generates as many emissions as 1.4 million Visa transactions or 105,000 hours of YouTube streaming.
- The energy-intensive mining process is based on the "proof of work" mechanism, in which only one participant is successful while everyone else wastes electricity - often from fossil sources.
Calculated on an annual basis, the network of the popular cryptocurrency currently generates 98 million tons of CO2. By comparison, Switzerland's greenhouse gas emissions recently amounted to around 41 million tons per year.
According to the portal, a single Bitcoin transaction currently causes as much CO2 as watching around 105,000 hours of YouTube videos - or processing 1.4 million Visa transactions.
The Bitcoin network is based on blockchain technology. The challenge is to validate transactions on the blockchain in a forgery-proof manner.
So far, the "proof of work" method has been used for these systems. This involves solving complicated cryptographic puzzles, which ultimately generate bitcoins. This process is also known as "mining".
Many players compete with each other in the mining process, but only one ultimately wins. This consumes a lot of electricity. This often comes from fossil sources, which leads to high CO2 emissions.
