Cryptocurrency Mining from an Economic and Environmental Perspective. Analysis of the Most and Least Sustainable Countries
There are different studies that point out that the price of electricity is a fundamental factor that will influence the mining decision, due to the cost it represents. There is also an ongoing debate about the pollution generated by cryptocurrency mining, and whether or not the use of renewable ene...
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Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-07-01
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Series: | Energies |
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Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/14/14/4254 |
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author | Sergio Luis Náñez Alonso Javier Jorge-Vázquez Miguel Ángel Echarte Fernández Ricardo Francisco Reier Forradellas |
author_facet | Sergio Luis Náñez Alonso Javier Jorge-Vázquez Miguel Ángel Echarte Fernández Ricardo Francisco Reier Forradellas |
author_sort | Sergio Luis Náñez Alonso |
collection | DOAJ |
description | There are different studies that point out that the price of electricity is a fundamental factor that will influence the mining decision, due to the cost it represents. There is also an ongoing debate about the pollution generated by cryptocurrency mining, and whether or not the use of renewable energies will solve the problem of its sustainability. In our study, starting from the Environmental Performance Index (EPI), we have considered several determinants of cryptocurrency mining: energy price, how that energy is generated, temperature, legal constraints, human capital, and R&D&I. From this, via linear regression, we recalculated this EPI by including the above factors that affect cryptocurrency mining in a sustainable way. The study determines, once the EPI has been readjusted, that the most sustainable countries to perform cryptocurrency mining are Denmark and Germany. In fact, of the top ten countries eight of them are European (Denmark, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland, Finland, Austria, and the United Kingdom); and the remaining two are Asian (South Korea and Japan). |
first_indexed | 2024-03-10T09:40:24Z |
format | Article |
id | doaj.art-a20197c5162f46718817d65fade1d4ca |
institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
issn | 1996-1073 |
language | English |
last_indexed | 2024-03-10T09:40:24Z |
publishDate | 2021-07-01 |
publisher | MDPI AG |
record_format | Article |
series | Energies |
spelling | doaj.art-a20197c5162f46718817d65fade1d4ca2023-11-22T03:42:36ZengMDPI AGEnergies1996-10732021-07-011414425410.3390/en14144254Cryptocurrency Mining from an Economic and Environmental Perspective. Analysis of the Most and Least Sustainable CountriesSergio Luis Náñez Alonso0Javier Jorge-Vázquez1Miguel Ángel Echarte Fernández2Ricardo Francisco Reier Forradellas3DEKIS Research Group, Department of Economics, Catholic University of Avila, 05005 Ávila, SpainDEKIS Research Group, Department of Economics, Catholic University of Avila, 05005 Ávila, SpainDEKIS Research Group, Department of Economics, Catholic University of Avila, 05005 Ávila, SpainDEKIS Research Group, Department of Economics, Catholic University of Avila, 05005 Ávila, SpainThere are different studies that point out that the price of electricity is a fundamental factor that will influence the mining decision, due to the cost it represents. There is also an ongoing debate about the pollution generated by cryptocurrency mining, and whether or not the use of renewable energies will solve the problem of its sustainability. In our study, starting from the Environmental Performance Index (EPI), we have considered several determinants of cryptocurrency mining: energy price, how that energy is generated, temperature, legal constraints, human capital, and R&D&I. From this, via linear regression, we recalculated this EPI by including the above factors that affect cryptocurrency mining in a sustainable way. The study determines, once the EPI has been readjusted, that the most sustainable countries to perform cryptocurrency mining are Denmark and Germany. In fact, of the top ten countries eight of them are European (Denmark, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland, Finland, Austria, and the United Kingdom); and the remaining two are Asian (South Korea and Japan).https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/14/14/4254sustainable miningcryptocurrency miningenergetic sustainabilitysustainabilitysustainability of cryptocurrenciescryptocurrencies |
spellingShingle | Sergio Luis Náñez Alonso Javier Jorge-Vázquez Miguel Ángel Echarte Fernández Ricardo Francisco Reier Forradellas Cryptocurrency Mining from an Economic and Environmental Perspective. Analysis of the Most and Least Sustainable Countries Energies sustainable mining cryptocurrency mining energetic sustainability sustainability sustainability of cryptocurrencies cryptocurrencies |
title | Cryptocurrency Mining from an Economic and Environmental Perspective. Analysis of the Most and Least Sustainable Countries |
title_full | Cryptocurrency Mining from an Economic and Environmental Perspective. Analysis of the Most and Least Sustainable Countries |
title_fullStr | Cryptocurrency Mining from an Economic and Environmental Perspective. Analysis of the Most and Least Sustainable Countries |
title_full_unstemmed | Cryptocurrency Mining from an Economic and Environmental Perspective. Analysis of the Most and Least Sustainable Countries |
title_short | Cryptocurrency Mining from an Economic and Environmental Perspective. Analysis of the Most and Least Sustainable Countries |
title_sort | cryptocurrency mining from an economic and environmental perspective analysis of the most and least sustainable countries |
topic | sustainable mining cryptocurrency mining energetic sustainability sustainability sustainability of cryptocurrencies cryptocurrencies |
url | https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/14/14/4254 |
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