The vast majority of blockchain energy studies ‘lack scientific rigor’

According to a new preprint conducted by researchers at the Open Universiteit, University of California Berkley and Radboud University, the vast majority of the literature on blockchain energy use from both academic and everyday sources “lacks the scientific rigor expected of a mature scientific field.” The report analyzed 128 scientific and open source studies related to carbon emissions from blockchains such as Bitcoin.

Researchers then found that an astonishing 34% of studies did not even have an explicit research design. Meanwhile, 43% of studies did not share data, while 67% did not share source code. Finally, 79% of studies had no discussion of the reliability of external data.

Several notable fallacies across studies were discovered by researchers in their analysis. First, blockchain energy studies usually cite data and draw their conclusions from the Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index. However, the source explicitly states that it only captures around 32% to 37% of all computing power in the network.

Several notable fallacies across studies were discovered by researchers in their analysis. First, blockchain energy studies usually cite data and draw their conclusions from the Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index. However, the source explicitly states that it only captures around 32% to 37% of all computing power in the network.

Secondly, the validity of electricity costs used in such studies is questioned. Researchers found that a significant portion of the studies had “no clear” assumptions for the cost of using electricity in cryptocurrency mining. Furthermore, there is considerable opacity in studies regarding their choice of power consumption.

Finally, researchers flagged the validity of carbon emission claims on blockchain. In several studies, they found that the previous investigators simply extrapolated carbon emissions data, without empirical evidence, from 2014 and applied to 2014, from 2019 to 2021, from 2015 to all the way up to 2020, and so on.

The report called for discussions about the reliability of models that assess the environmental impacts of blockchains. The crypto community remains deeply divided when it comes to assessing the carbon footprint of blockchains. Some, like Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, say that 90% of the energy from Bitcoin mining comes from dirty energy. Others claim that the network accounts for less than 0.08% of the world’s carbon dioxide output.