Bitcoin and its mining process is the most harmful cryptocurrency for the environment, with 56.8mln tonnes of CO2 emissions expected this year alone, research suggests.
Ethereum is second on the list, with 21.8mln tonnes of emissions forecast, from Forex Suggest, who conducted the research.
To offset the damage caused by Bitcoin, 284mln trees would need to be planted.
‘Mining’ is the name given to the process where computers called ‘nodes’ solve a complicated set of mathematical problems that allow each block to be added to the Bitcoin blockchain. A fraction of a bitcoin is the reward for each problem solved under this ‘proof of work’ technique.
This process requires 707kWh of energy per transaction under the Bitcoin blockchain, which is significantly higher than some of the ‘better’ coins for CO2 emissions such as Stellar and Nano, who only use 0.00003kWh and 0.000112kWh per transaction.
Last year, mining bitcoin produced 59.9mln tonne of CO2 emissions according to Forex Suggest.
While the projection from Forex Suggest shows a decrease from the previous year, it is still considerably higher than Ethereum and other cryptos.
Forex Suggest ranked the eight most harmful cryptos to the planet, with Dogecoin and Cardano also making the list.
Bitcoin and Ethereum both made headlines recently having reached all-time highs.
However, with countries and organisations beginning to implement regulations to curb their carbon footprint, this news could worry potential future investors in cryptocurrency.
In May of this year, Elon Musk announced that Tesla would no longer be accepting Bitcoin as payment because its high emissions and climate impact, causing the crypto market to plummet.
Some cryptos, such as Ethereum, have already began transitioning to a method of mining which requires less energy than the current model.