Key Takeaways:
- Riot Platforms Vice President Pierre Rochard slammed a New York Times story that examined the carbon and energy consumption of Bitcoin mining.
- The Bitcoin mining activities run by Riot, according to the company, “do not generate any greenhouse gas emissions” and instead utilise electricity in the same way as other data centres.
The New York Times was criticised for a piece on Bitcoin mining on April 10 by Pierre Rochard, the vice president of mining business Riot Platforms. The publication promoted a story examining the environmental costs of Bitcoin mining and carried out analysis to determine the method’s carbon emissions.
The analysis, which was compiled in early March, examined the 34 Bitcoin mines’ generation fuels using openly available information. Every site generated more than 70% of its energy from fossil fuels, and many of those sites had fuel mixtures that were 90% fossil fuels.
For instance, according to the analysis, Riot Blockchain’s Rockdale, Texas facility—which draws electricity directly from the grid via an interconnect—appears to be run almost entirely on fossil fuels.
Riot Platforms is adamant that the piece is full of inaccuracies and lies and appears to be motivated by extreme political motives. Despite this, Riot Platforms is unwavering in its commitment to building an open, universal Bitcoin network and building strong, resilient communities where it does business.
In response, Riot said it draws its energy from the Texas electrical system, which employs 24% wind energy, 10% nuclear energy, and 4% solar energy. Additionally, Riot claimed that it uses the “abundant and otherwise wasted” wind and solar energy that is accessible during off-peak hours when it operates in rural areas.
It is vital to emphasise that, in the midst of yet another banking crisis, Bitcoin provides people and businesses with much-needed options for keeping wealth and the opportunity to control their own assets. Riot’s official press release and the crypto community both expressed similar thoughts, emphasising that such allegations and revelations undercut what blockchain technology truly stands for.
The release further emphasised that Bitcoin mining operations also give rural areas jobs, tax money, and many other advantages, such as grid stability and incentives for the creation of alternative energy.
Many even suggested that the New York Times should be held liable for any willfully misleading remarks that damage RIOT Platforms.
Riot continuously expressed its disappointment in NY Times stating, “we were especially disappointed to read a false and distorted view of our Company and our industry in the Article published by The NYT.”
The arguments made by Riot draw attention to particular passages in the article while also highlighting a variety of broader misconceptions about the business and the crypto-mining sector as a whole. The mining company also stated that Riot’s data was overlooked by the New York Times.
The vice president of research at Riot Platforms, Pierre Rochard, highlighted some of the fabricated data in the post once more on Twitter.
