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Re:SolarBatteryBitcoin by SuoDuanDao on Thursday April 22, 2021 @08:08AM (#26901790)
A great comparison I've heard is 'how much energy is required to mine one bitcoin's worth of gold'? I haven't seen a figure, and as gold's negative externalities are more about groundwater pollution than CO2e it wouldn't tell the whole story, but it would still be an interesting comparison.
Re:SolarBatteryBitcoin by saalweachter on Thursday April 22, 2021 @12:37PM (#26904765)
Gold is about 0.8 tons / troy oz. Given the current exchange rate of ~30 troy oz / BTC, that's 24 tons of CO2 / one-bitcoin-worth-of-gold.

At current mining rewards, 329,000 BTC are mined each year, producing 37 megatons of CO2, or about 110 tons of CO2 / one-bitcoin-worth-of-bitcoin.