Bitfarms Counters Environmental Criticism of Bitcoin Mining and Grows with NASDAQ

It is still unclear whether bitcoin mining is creating havoc on the environment, or if it’s just a snide criticism that gets good headlines. Bitfarms Ltd., TSXV:BITF, OTC : BFARF) is the largest publicly traded bitcoin mining firm using more than 99% renewable electricity. It’s surprising that the majority of people are leaning towards the latter.

Recent analysis by Cambridge University found that Bitcoin uses more energy per year than Argentina. The same analysis concluded that Bitcoin would rank among the top 30 energy-consuming nations if it were a country.

“Comparing Bitcoin with countries and ranking them does an amazing job of making people feel that it’s not just one of the largest sources of emissions but is also a significant problem in comparison to the almost 200 other countries on the planet,” Bitfarms Chief Miner Officer Ben Gagnon stated. “Bitcoin is a relatively new currency that has been around for less than 12 years. Data on climate change emissions is cumulatively measured and dates back to 1750, 270 years ago. This is 21 times more than the time Bitcoin has been around.

“We adopt the conservative approach to project Bitcoins’ global emissions from its inception. We chart this historical with the cumulative emissions. This conservative approach results in a very small Bitcoins’ global share of measured emissions, 0.028%.

Global Carbon Project estimates that 34 billion metric tons (or 0.16%) of global carbon emissions were created in 2020. This is almost 620 times more than Bitcoin’s estimated annual carbon emissions. Many people are still unsure about the contribution of bitcoin mining to the global carbon footprint. This is despite the fact that all living things and human activities produce emissions. Even renewable energy like wind and solar emits huge amounts of carbon due to their production, installation, and the time they are discarded or deconstructed.

Geoff Morphy, Bitfarms president, has made it clear publicly that the company does not burn carbon to power its bitcoin mining operations. It is all hydroelectric. He also questions whether Bitfarms will continue to rely on hydroelectric power long-term.

“As we grow, can we keep with pure hydroelectricity?” We don’t know. Morphy stated that if we change to carbon because there is an opportunity for surplus in the world, and we have the ability to take advantage of it, then we will. “We will probably always consume lots of energy. It is important to drive the decentralized economy in order to be considered of high importance.

Bitfarms joins NASDAQ

Bitfarms has been operating blockchain computing centers for the decentralized global economy for four years. It recently joined the Nasdaq Stock Market as the symbol BITF. On June 21st, Bitfarms officially started trading on NASDAQ. The company is now dual-listed on NASDAQ as well as the TSX.V. Bitfarms consider the Nasdaq listing a significant milestone after many years of company development and growth.

“We are the largest public-traded bitcoin miner in North America, using more than 99% renewable electricity. This is for investors who want to get exposure to Bitcoin but are also concerned about their environmental impact. We are the only company that can tick both of these boxes. Since our company was founded in 2017, we have done this. This is not because of recent public pressures about ESG’ Bitfarms CEO Emiliano Grodzki. “We are proud to have set the highest standards in our industry and mine operations, and to have been able to uplist to one of the most prestigious stock markets in the world. We are excited to see where our company will go next after reaching this milestone.