Greenpeace versus Bitcoin: Now it's BlackRock's turn

The BTC logo and Larry Fink with laser eyes over New York City: Greenpeace wants to hold BlackRock’s CEO accountable and change the Bitcoin code.

The Bitcoin logo shone above the impressive New York City (NYC) skyline. Not as the latest prank by the Bitcoin collective Bitman, which previously made the ECB headquarters in Frankfurt shine orange. But as part of Greenpeace USA’s anti-Bitcoin campaign. The environmental organization has been trying to change Bitcoin’s code for more than a year - to no avail. The new attempt affects BlackRock and other financial institutions.

Greenpeace’s statement

"With stunning projections on prominent NYC buildings, Greenpeace USA puts the spotlight on the harmful climate impacts of Bitcoin investments by financial giants JPMorgan Chase and BlackRock", the Greenpeace NGO said in a press release. Granted: The Bitcoin logo in Times Square in the heart of New York really is a beautiful sight. But the context is wrong. In a 48-page report, they have figured out how harmful Bitcoin actually is to the environment. Greenpeace summarized the results in a video.

Greenpeace has disabled the comment feature on YouTube for now. On Twitter, however, the environmental organization is receiving the full frustration of the Bitcoin community. With memes, insults, as well as constructive criticism, the community is counting against the anti-Bitcoin campaign. Environmentalist Daniel Batten has already analyzed the Greenpeace report and comes to a conclusion:

‘Because of its many inaccuracies, exclusions, use of flawed source data, lack of evidence to support many claims, lack of an objective assessment of the full environmental impact, and evidence of strong bias on the part of the contributors, it is best to ignore this report.

Greenpeace is urged to learn more about Proof of Work and the role of Bitcoin as a catalyst in the energy transition.

BlackRock CEO nu Bitcoin maxi?

Greenpeace is sure of it: "Every scientific report makes it clear that we must quickly move away from fossil fuels if we want to keep our planet habitable." But "influential financial leaders" set the planet back years. Featured in the video: BlackRock CEO Larry Fink and JPMorgan chief Jamie Dimon - with laser eyes. After all: Larry Fink has stood out as a Bitcoin supporter more than once in recent weeks.

With the images, Greenpeace USA wants financial giants "Hold responsible for the impact of their Bitcoin bets against the climate", the organization said. The public is also invited to join the movement. Critical questions so far remain unanswered by Greenpeace. The goal of the petition, called Change the Code, not the Climate: Change Bitcoin’s Consensus Mechanism to Proof of Stake.

Bitcoin PoS: Greenpeace can do it themselves

To win supporters for the petition, Greenpeace lists four facts about Bitcoin. These should show how harmful the cryptocurrency is with the current consensus mechanism. The environmental organization does not recognize the positive aspects of the decentralized financial infrastructure. Yet it is precisely this decentralization that could help Greenpeace implement its project.

New ideas can be proposed via Github. With a so-called "pull request" allows Greenpeace to discuss its project with the community. In addition, the Bitcoin source code is public and accessible to everyone. Thus, Greenpeace could easily change the code itself. It remains to be seen, however, whether Bitcoin Proof-of-Stake will receive the hoped-for approval. Also noteworthy: the connection between Chris Larsen and Greenpeace. The founder of Ripple supports the project and has already donated $5 million.

Here’s how Bitcoin can drive the energy transition forward

Contrary to the opinion of many critics: energy-intensive Bitcoin mining could have the potential to shape the energy transition. The thesis: mining equipment can be flexibly turned on and off and thus can be better deployed in the event of overproduction. This way there is better control of the energy grid and reusable energy becomes profitable faster because of Bitcoin-related cross-financing.

For example, some companies use Bitcoin mining to reduce their electricity costs. This is also the case of a tulip grower from the Netherlands, who mined Bitcoin while using the energy to heat his greenhouses.