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ECB's Panetta Claims Bitcoin Threatens Global Sustainability Efforts

“Bitcoin alone is already consuming more electricity than the Netherlands,” Panetta said.

Updated Sep 14, 2021, 12:53 p.m. Published May 11, 2021, 3:51 p.m.

European Central Bank (ECB) executive board member Fabio Panetta said the mining of cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin is a threat to global sustainability efforts.

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In a blog post Tuesday, the Italian economist and ECB executive said the “enormous energy consumption” and associated carbon dioxide emissions of crypto-asset mining could undermine global sustainability efforts.
The ECB acknowledged that the COVID-19 pandemic has helped push down carbon dioxide emissions, but that is temporary. Still, crypto mining poses potential harm, Panetta said.
“Bitcoin alone is already consuming more electricity than the Netherlands. Controlling and limiting the environmental impact of crypto assets, including through regulation and taxation, should be part of the global discussion,” said Panetta in a statement.
In March, ECB’s President Christine Lagarde told Bloomberg, there are plans to roll out a digital euro within four years if policymakers give the project the green light this summer.

Bitcoin Mining Environment ECB sustainability CoinFlash

Tanzeel Akhtar

Tanzeel Akhtar has contributed to The Wall Street Journal, BBC, Bloomberg, CNBC, Forbes Africa, Financial Times, The Street, Citywire, Investing.com, Euromoney, Yahoo! Finance, Benzinga, Kitco News, African Business Magazine, Hedge Week, Campden Family Office, Modern Investor, Spear's Wealth Management Magazine, Global Investor, ETF.com, ETF Stream, CIO UK, Funds Global Asia, Portfolio Institutional, Interactive Investor, Bitcoin Magazine, CryptoNews.com, Bitcoin.com, The Local, The Next Web, Mining Journal, Money Marketing, Marketing Week and more. Tanzeel trained as a foreign correspondent at the University of Helsinki, Finland and newspaper journalist at the University of Central Lancashire, UK. She holds a BA (Honours) in English Literature from the Manchester Metropolitan University, UK and completed a semester abroad as an ERASMUS student at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece. She is NCTJ Qualified - Media Law, Public Administration and passed the Shorthand 100WPM with distinction. She does not currently hold value in any digital currencies or projects.