GreenpeaceUSA Ends Campaign Against Bitcoin Mining
Date: 2024-12-16 Author: Gabriel Deangelo Categories: IN WORLD
The organization has not published any new statements or messages on the topic in the past six months. The @cleanupbitcoin account in X has been inactive since January 2024. Other Greenpeace divisions have not publicly expressed support for the campaign.
Batten also noted that GreenpeaceUSA CEO Josh Archer has left the organization and is now working on the Stand Forest Protection Project. At the same time, environmental groups such as the Sierra Club, Earthjustice, and EWG have not mentioned Bitcoin in their publications for over a year.
The researcher suggested analyzing what lessons can be learned from the confrontation between the crypto community and environmentalists. In particular, he recalled the events of May 2021, when Elon Musk's tweet about the impact of Bitcoin on the environment led to a sharp drop in the cryptocurrency's rate to $13,800.
At that time, according to Batten, the press was actively disseminating refuted studies criticizing mining. In March 2022, Ripple co-founder Chris Larsen donated $5 million to fund the GreenpeaceUSA campaign. However, as Batten noted, the organization was unable to cope with the tasks set.
The main problems of the campaign included:
1 Claims about the harm of mining to the environment due to the use of coal and mothballed power plants turned out to be unfounded.
2 The tactic of moral pressure on large companies that could make "environmental concessions" did not work.
3 Activists underestimated the strength and conviction of Bitcoin defenders who already have experience of confrontation.
Batten emphasized that even the author of the famous work "Satoshi's Skull" changed his attitude towards Bitcoin after communicating with representatives of the crypto industry working on environmentally friendly solutions.
According to the researcher, the GreenpeaceUSA campaign was a failure. The organization spent $5 million, but did not achieve changes in the Bitcoin code or the position of financial institutions. Moreover, a significant part of the younger generation turned away from Greenpeace.
Recall that in early 2024, GreenpeaceUSA criticized the decision of the US Securities and Exchange Commission regarding spot Bitcoin ETFs.
