• The Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance (CCAF) has released a study that underestimates the amount of sustainable Bitcoin mining going on.
• ESG investors largely don’t feel comfortable investing in Bitcoin due to this underestimate.
• To encourage ESG funds to invest, independent and empirical data must be provided regarding the level of sustainability in Bitcoin mining.
Research Reveals CCAF Underestimation
My latest research reveals that the Cambridge Centre For Alternative Finance’s (CCAF) 2022 study on Bitcoin’s environmental impact underestimates the amount of sustainable Bitcoin mining occurring. This is concerning as it stops ESG investors from putting their money into Bitcoin projects, causing user adoption to stall.
Why ESG Investment is Growing
ESG investment is growing rapidly and is on track to reach $10.5 trillion in the U.S. alone, meaning that any significant adoption of Bitcoin cannot occur unless those investing in this way feel comfortable with its environmental impact.
Bitcoiners’ Muted Response
The response from those involved with Bitcoin so far has been muted, leading to environmental groups lobbying governments to regulate mining punitively and halting progress towards more ESG funds investing in cryptocurrency projects.
What Would Encourage ESG Funds?
For ESG funds to invest in cryptocurrency projects, they need independent and empirical data showing unambiguously how much sustainable energy is used for mining, as well as evidence that this amount is increasing over time and that overall energy use by miners is decreasing quantifiably.
Conclusion
It’s important that accurate information about the sustainability of cryptocurrency projects such as Bitcoin become available soon so that these can be properly assessed by those considering investing via an ESG approach and user adoption can increase without fear of regulation or repercussion from governing bodies or environmental groups