Bitcoin is the dirtiest crypto, far ahead of other currencies

Bitcoin's benefits come at the cost of immense energy consumption. The cryptocurrency ranks far ahead of the competition in terms of environmental impact.

Bitcoin electricity

Bitcoin topped the list of the most-polluting cryptocurrencies. According to the report released by ForexSuggest.com, it uses 1183.58 kWh per transaction, an equivalent of 0.88769 ton of CO2. The runner-up Polygon uses 90.18 kWh per transaction, which equates to emitting 0.06764 ton of CO2 – an order of magnitude less than the most popular currency.

Dogecoin, which ranks seventh on the list, uses "only" 0.12 generating 0.00009 ton of CO2 – incomparably less than its competition. Ethereum ranked low due to its transition from energy-greedy Proof-of-Work to Proof-of-Stake last year.

Crypto related emissions
Source: ForexSuggest.com

The report's authors also calculated the number of trees required to offset the cryptocurrencies' environmental impact. It turns out that to nullify Bitcoin-related annual emissions, it would be necessary to plant as many as 431.6 million trees.

Read also: WEF claims the natural environment benefits from Bitcoin

Below you can find the figures for other top-dirtiest cryptocurrencies.

trees to offset crypto energy consumption
Source: ForexSuggest.com

The only "dirty" ranking where Bitcoin scored second place is the one relating to the rate of increasing emissions. Cardano's "progress" was unparalleled, with 113% year-on-year increase compared to Bitcoin's 52%. On the other hand, Ethereum scored delightful -100%, which is obviously an approximation, quite illustrative of PoS's ecological advantage over PoW.

Read also: Interest in Bitcoin decreases as it continues to trade sideways

The low energy-intensive coins list is topped by Stellar, with IOTA, Nano, Ripple XRP, and Chia following.

crypto low energy consumption
Source: ForexSuggest.com