The environmental burden of the United States’ bitcoin mining boom
Abstract Bitcoin mines—massive computing clusters generating cryptocurrency tokens—consume vast amounts of electricity. The amount of fine particle (PM2.5) air pollution created because of their electricity consumption and its effect on environmental health is pending. In this study, we located the...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2025-03-01
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| Series: | Nature Communications |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-58287-3 |
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| author | Gianluca Guidi Francesca Dominici Nat Steinsultz Gabriel Dance Lucas Henneman Henry Richardson Edgar Castro Falco J. Bargagli-Stoffi Scott Delaney |
| author_facet | Gianluca Guidi Francesca Dominici Nat Steinsultz Gabriel Dance Lucas Henneman Henry Richardson Edgar Castro Falco J. Bargagli-Stoffi Scott Delaney |
| author_sort | Gianluca Guidi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Bitcoin mines—massive computing clusters generating cryptocurrency tokens—consume vast amounts of electricity. The amount of fine particle (PM2.5) air pollution created because of their electricity consumption and its effect on environmental health is pending. In this study, we located the 34 largest mines in the United States in 2022, identified the electricity-generating plants that responded to them, and pinpointed communities most harmed by Bitcoin mine-attributable air pollution. From mid-2022 to mid-2023, the 34 mines consumed 32.3 terawatt-hours of electricity—33% more than Los Angeles—85% of which came from fossil fuels. We estimated that 1.9 million Americans were exposed to ≥0.1 μg/m3 of additional PM2.5 pollution from Bitcoin mines, often hundreds of miles away from the communities they affected. Americans living in four regions—including New York City and near Houston—were exposed to the highest Bitcoin mine-attributable PM2.5 concentrations (≥0.5 μg/m3) with the greatest health risks. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-12c2bb14aa2d4775b8ae92d338cec82d |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2041-1723 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-03-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nature Communications |
| spelling | doaj-art-12c2bb14aa2d4775b8ae92d338cec82d2025-08-20T02:49:35ZengNature PortfolioNature Communications2041-17232025-03-0116111010.1038/s41467-025-58287-3The environmental burden of the United States’ bitcoin mining boomGianluca Guidi0Francesca Dominici1Nat Steinsultz2Gabriel Dance3Lucas Henneman4Henry Richardson5Edgar Castro6Falco J. Bargagli-Stoffi7Scott Delaney8Department of Biostatistics, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public HealthDepartment of Biostatistics, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public HealthWattTimeThe New York TimesSid and Reba Dewberry Department of Civil, Environmental, and Infrastructure Engineering, College of School of Engineering and Computing, George Mason UniversityWattTimeDepartment of Biostatistics, UCLA Fielding School of Public HealthDepartment of Biostatistics, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public HealthDepartment of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public HealthAbstract Bitcoin mines—massive computing clusters generating cryptocurrency tokens—consume vast amounts of electricity. The amount of fine particle (PM2.5) air pollution created because of their electricity consumption and its effect on environmental health is pending. In this study, we located the 34 largest mines in the United States in 2022, identified the electricity-generating plants that responded to them, and pinpointed communities most harmed by Bitcoin mine-attributable air pollution. From mid-2022 to mid-2023, the 34 mines consumed 32.3 terawatt-hours of electricity—33% more than Los Angeles—85% of which came from fossil fuels. We estimated that 1.9 million Americans were exposed to ≥0.1 μg/m3 of additional PM2.5 pollution from Bitcoin mines, often hundreds of miles away from the communities they affected. Americans living in four regions—including New York City and near Houston—were exposed to the highest Bitcoin mine-attributable PM2.5 concentrations (≥0.5 μg/m3) with the greatest health risks.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-58287-3 |
| spellingShingle | Gianluca Guidi Francesca Dominici Nat Steinsultz Gabriel Dance Lucas Henneman Henry Richardson Edgar Castro Falco J. Bargagli-Stoffi Scott Delaney The environmental burden of the United States’ bitcoin mining boom Nature Communications |
| title | The environmental burden of the United States’ bitcoin mining boom |
| title_full | The environmental burden of the United States’ bitcoin mining boom |
| title_fullStr | The environmental burden of the United States’ bitcoin mining boom |
| title_full_unstemmed | The environmental burden of the United States’ bitcoin mining boom |
| title_short | The environmental burden of the United States’ bitcoin mining boom |
| title_sort | environmental burden of the united states bitcoin mining boom |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-58287-3 |
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