A new study commissioned by Germany's Federal Environment Agency found that a single Bitcoin transaction produces about 486 kilograms of carbon dioxide. The research, conducted by Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts and Swiss Economics, links the high emissions to the energy-intensive mining process where thousands of computers compete to validate blocks. In contrast, the study notes that an Ethereum transaction emits only 3 grams of CO2, less than a typical PayPal transfer. This difference comes from Ethereum's shift away from energy-heavy computational processes. The findings highlight the wide variation in environmental impact across cryptocurrencies and raise questions about the carbon cost of digital assets.
