Bitcoin mining generates as much as 30.7 metric kilotonnes of e-waste every year as of May 2021 which is comparable to small IT equipment waste produced by countries like the Netherlands, a new study revealed.
According to a new study by Science Direct, at peak Bitcoin price levels seen early in 2021, the annual amount of e-waste may grow beyond 64.4 metric kilotonnes in the midterm, which highlights the dynamic trend if the Bitcoin price rises further.
"E-waste represents a growing threat to our environment, from toxic chemicals and heavy metals leaching into soils, to air and water pollution caused by improper recycling," said the study.
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Divided by the average number of bitcoin transactions, that means just two transactions create as much waste as a disposed iPad, said Alex de Vries, a cryptocurrency economist and the study's lead author, reports Quartz.
This mining system had also created pressures miners to run only the latest, fastest, most energy-efficiency computer chips and discard older ones.
Moreover, the soaring demand for mining hardware may disrupt global semiconductor supply chains.
The e-waste problem will probably grow further if the price of bitcoin continues to rise, since it will incentivise further investment in and replacement of ASIC hardware.
As per the UN, e-waste is the world's fastest-growing waste stream, up 21 per cent between 2014 and 2019 to 53.6 million metric tonnes and less than one-fifth of that is recycled.
To reduce the e-waste generated from bitcoin, a new mining method called proof-of-stake which is far more energy-efficient than the proof-of-work principle used by bitcoin and can be performed on regular computers should be encouraged, the report added.