How Does Electricity Consumption in Blockchain Applications Impact Resource Consumption and Environmental Emissions?
Tiantian Feng, Yan Li, Cheng Zhong, Han-Qun Wang, Ning-Qian Zhang · International Journal of Energy Research · 2025
Blockchain technology, known for its decentralized, trustless, and immutable nature, is gaining traction across various industries. As Blockchain 3.0 is expected to see widespread adoption in the sharing economy and energy trading, its associated energy consumption could have significant environmental implications. This study introduces an environmentally extended input–output (EEIO) model to assess the environmental impacts—such as freshwater use, PM2.5 emissions, CO 2 emissions, atmospheric Hg, and solid waste generation—linked to blockchain‐driven electricity demand. By analyzing scenarios based on projected cryptocurrency hash rates and hardware efficiencies, the study evaluates how large‐scale blockchain adoption affects resource consumption and environmental emissions across sectors. The results show that Monero’s design leads to higher resource consumption and environmental impact, with freshwater use being the most affected, followed by greenhouse gas emissions and PM2.5 levels.