Bitcoin Mining and Climate Change

Sitting in his office with an investor in one of his funds, Daniel Batten was about to bring up a controversial topic.

After just 2 words, he watched as the investor’s shoulders tensed and his arms crossed.

This was the usual reaction he got when he brought this up.

He had been the same.

Daniel went to his first climate protest at the age of 4 with his mother, and has been an activist ever since.

He founded a successful bioinformatics tech company and has been investing in technology that benefits society and the environment since 2005.

So naturally, Daniel had started with a negative view of Bitcoin Mining.

But after doing extensive research and speaking with grid operators and engineers, he uncovered a different truth.

He also found a major flaw in how the Bitcoin energy mix was being calculated - it didn’t take into account the number of miners using ‘off-grid’ electricity.

When taking this into account, he found that over 50% of Bitcoin mining comes from sustainable energy sources and this number is rising by about 6% per year.

A trajectory no other industry in the world can claim.

After sharing his research, the now not-so-tense investor said “ Why don’t you set up a fund that invests in renewable Bitcoin Mining? ”

It started as a joke, but one year later, Daniel is doing just that.

To find out more about his work and Daniel he believes Bitcoin Mining will play a crucial role in fighting climate change, check out our conversation with him below: