- Sifted.eu
Renewable energy companies have a lucrative new side hustle: mining bitcoin
Crypto’s got a bad climate rep. Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency, now consumes more electricity annually than Argentina, a country with a population of 45m.
There’s rising discontent about crypto’s energy consumption. Kosovo has banned mining based on its footprint. In Europe, Sweden’s finance watchdog, the Finansinspektionen, recently called on the EU to do the same.
But one startup thinks crypto can get greener — and, on top of that, that it has a key role to play in the green energy transition.
The startup, Lake Parime, is helping renewable energy companies mine bitcoin using their excess power. By creating a lucrative side hustle for the renewable energy market, the company hopes to incentivise the building of more clean power infrastructure.