China has gotten a bad wrap over the years for its greenhouse gas output, however, Bitcoin’s carbon dioxide pollution has gotten even worse since China outlawed Bitcoin mining. Chinese miners were using clean hydropower since many of them have exited the country and replaced the clean power sources with coal and gas.
Mining bans, don’t actually curb emissions, in fact, quite the opposite. Miners are forced to find cheap energy elsewhere and this energy is usually of the ‘dirty’ variety. Bitcoin’s carbon footprint is about equal to Czech Republic’s entire country.
Since China’s mining ban, the US and Kazakhstan have become the world’s largest miners. However, Kazakhstan could lose that slot as regulation related to failing power grids caused by excessive mining activities is now being levied. Kazakhstan relies primarily on hard coal that releases even more planet-heating CO2 than other types of coal. The US isn’t much better. America boasts over a third of the world’s Bitcoin mining operations and uses gas and coal for a majority of its electricity.
In 2021, Ethereum (CRYPTO:ETH) and Bitcoin (CRYPTO:BTC) alone emitted the equivalent CO2 to 15.5 million cars (78 million tons). The problem needs to be solved.
WHO WILL CREATE THE SOLUTION?
Generation Hemp, Inc. (OTCMKTS:GENH) is one of the most interesting ways to play this growing crisis. The midstream hemp company has partnered with Massachusetts-based Cryptech Solutions, the largest volume reseller of ASICS in North America, to build ‘green energy’ plants and Bitcoin mining farms that utilize hemp as the primary power source.
Through a Joint Venture the two will create sustainable crypto mining farms. The first plant will be able to generate 2 megawatts (‘MW’) which would allow for up to 576 mining units. Assuming 100 TH/s per unit, GENH and Crypt Solutions would be able to generate $3.65 Million in annual Bitcoin revenues at today’s prices.
To give some context to how big this joint venture can eventually become GENH Chairman and CEO, Gary C. Evans noted, “This will be a tremendous learning experience for us as we are planning significantly larger projects in the southeastern U.S.” Not bad for a first ‘small’ test facility.
Generation Hemp, Inc. (OTCMKTS:GENH) has picked a great dance partner in Cryptech Solutions. The company has sold and sourced over 50,000 miners, 1,000+ hardware transactions, and 100+ MW of hosting/power.
This venture may be the best way to play Bitcoin’s ‘green problem’.
The energy required for a single Bitcoin transaction could power a home for more than 70 days.
That’s why green crypto is more than a buzz phrase, it’s a mandate. Valkyrie’s new Bitcoin Mining ETF (WGMI) has a mandate is to invest 80% of its net assets in miners that derive a minimum of 50% of their profit from bitcoin mining and primarily use renewable energy.
The top five holdings of the fund are Argo Blockchain (Nasdaq:ARBK), Bitfarms (Nasdaq:BITF), Cleanspark (Nasdaq:CLSK), Hive Blockchain (Nasdaq:HIVE), and Stronghold Digital Mining (Nasdaq:SDIG). GENH may eventually become a desirable addition to ETFs like this.
INVESTING IN CLEAN ENERGY TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM
Renewable utility companies may be a ‘cleaner’ way to invest in the solution. NextEra (NYSE:NEE) has built and contracted renewable sources to fulfill it’s already built-in revenue streams. It plans to add between 23 GW and 30 GW of renewable capacity between 2021 and 2024. On the high end, that would put its capacity above 50GW. The U.S. had 1,117 GW of utility-scale electricity production capacity in 2020, and that includes both renewable and nonrenewable sources.
THE MOST ELEGANT SOLUTION GENH?
GENH will be both a green power source and an environmentally-friendly miner, making it potentially the best way to play a greener crypto space.
This article is part of a sponsored investor education program.