The growing interest in cryptocurrency has also led to an increase in the negative environmental effects of mining and verifying those coins as authentic. Very powerful computers with exorbitant energy demands are needed to run the algorithms that cryptocurrency mining operations depend on. The University of Cambridge estimates that Bitcoin alone generates 132.48 terawatt-hours (TWh) annually, which surpasses the energy usage from the entire nation of Norway. Another popular coin, Ethereum, consumes 105.36 TWh annually. In fact, a single Ethereum transaction requires as much power as an average American household uses in 8.76 days. If the energy demands of Bitcoin and Ethereum were a country, they would rank 12th in worldwide consumption between the United Kingdom and Italy.
Thankfully there are options on how to best offset the environmental damage done through mining cryptocurrency. Endaoment is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt public charity providing a wide range of philanthropic financial services. They have donated nearly $40 million to over 1.5 million different nonprofit organizations. President and CEO of Endaoment Robbie Heeger said, “It’s become increasingly clear that the DeFi (decentralized finance) community wants to enact positive change, evident through efforts to donate crypto to support humanitarian aid, initiatives to bring financial services to unbanked populations, and rhetoric around returning financial power to everyday individuals. But when it comes to giving back, the number of choices can be paralyzing, especially when someone is donating a substantial sum of money.”
Endaoment and Carbonfund.org Foundation have partnered to help offset the negative effects of crypto on the environment. Carbonfund.org has supported over 240 carbon neutrality projects in 28 countries and 42 states. These projects are all third-party validated and verified to the highest international standards to ensure they meet their Quality Assurance Protocol. Carbonfund.org provides several ways to offset the environmental impact of your home, vehicle, air travel and more. Use their Carbon Footprint Calculator to measure your impact and then make a tax-deductible donation to neutralize your carbon emissions.
You can also donate cryptocurrency directly to Carbonfund.org through Endaoment. This can be either to mitigate the emissions created through crypto generation, to neutralize your carbon footprint, or to support their industry-leading carbon offset projects. Endaoment has also created the Crypto Carbon Offset Fund which goes to support excellent environmental charities such as Carbonfund.org, Cool Effect and Bonneville Environmental Foundation. Endaoment and Carbonfund.org believe the cryptocurrency community should play an active role in mitigating the effects it has on energy consumption and the environment.
The post How to Donate Cryptocurrency to an Environmental Nonprofit appeared first on Carbonfund.org.