Pollution linked to Bitcoin: Elon Musk accuses, Mark Cuban strikes back.

By: Bharggavi Ssayee

May 19, 2021 3:49 AM

Until not too long ago, Elon Musk was a strong supporter of Bitcoin. But that was before ... On May 13, 2021, Tesla's boss posted a killer Bitcoin tweet. He announced that Tesla was suspending BTC payments over environmental issues. The reactions were not long in coming. Another billionaire, Mark Cuban, was keen to speak.

Bitcoin is less polluting than gold!

Relatively little known in Europe, Mark Cuban is nevertheless a famous billionaire on the other side of the Atlantic for two reasons. Already, he is the owner of an NBA team, the Dallas Mavericks. In addition, being a crypto investor himself, he does not hesitate to stand up for electronic currencies. The proof this week, where he did not hesitate to respond to Elon Musk's derogatory remarks about Bitcoin.

“At Mavs.com, we will continue to accept BTC, ETH and DOGE because we know that replacing gold as a store of value will benefit the environment. "

Mark Cuban

In his response to Elon Musk, Mark Cuban echoes the comparison between Bitcoin and gold, both "stores of value." If Musk laments the environmental impact of Bitcoin mining, he forgets that gold mining is much more polluting!

Mark Cuban then reposted a New York Times article that exposed the heavy pollution attributed to gold mining. In this article, the environmental impact of gold mining was compared to that of radioactive nuclear waste, just that!

Bitcoin mining: renewable energy is increasingly needed

Mark Cuban continued his argument by discussing the types of energy used in Bitcoin mining. Although energy intensive, this industry is increasingly turning to renewable energies to reduce its ecological footprint.

Mark Cuban recalled that to date, half of the world's Bitcoin mining takes place in Sichuan, China. However, this region is particularly well endowed with renewable energies from hydraulics. A Moneyweek article published in January 2021 also recalls that the share of renewables in Bitcoin mining in Sichuan amounts to 95%! The remaining 5% would come from nuclear and coal.

Other studies confirm the finding that Bitcoin is using more and more green energy. A report from Coinshares shows that renewable energy powers around 75% of the global Bitcoin network.

"Limiting the 'big banks' and the use of cash will benefit society and the environment. "

Mark Cuban

Finally, Mark Cuban also recalled that Bitcoin aims to replace cash and the traditional banking system. This can only be beneficial for the environment!