{"id":3102,"date":"2024-02-06T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-02-06T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www-prod.greenpeace.org\/usa\/campaign-updates\/3102\/blackrock-is-now-among-the-largest-holders-of-polluting-bitcoin\/"},"modified":"2024-11-22T03:37:12","modified_gmt":"2024-11-22T03:37:12","slug":"blackrock-is-now-among-the-largest-holders-of-polluting-bitcoin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/usa\/blackrock-is-now-among-the-largest-holders-of-polluting-bitcoin\/","title":{"rendered":"BlackRock Is Now Among the Largest Holders of Polluting Bitcoin"},"content":{"rendered":"

BlackRock embraces Bitcoin, betraying its climate commitments and putting profit over the planet, communities, and investors.<\/span><\/p>\n

Bitcoin Projection Exposes BlackRock & Chase in New York
Using stunning projections on prominent buildings in the heart of New York City, Greenpeace USA cast a spotlight on the detrimental climate impact of Bitcoin investments by financial giants JPMorgan Chase & Co. (Chase) and BlackRock. The display painted the skyline with images of Blackrock CEO Larry Fink and Chase CEO Jamie Dimon donning red laser eyes, similar to the profiles of Bitcoin maximalists.
\nBitcoin consumes as much electricity as entire countries, and 62% of the electricity used for Bitcoin mining globally in 2022 came from fossil fuels. Bitcoin\u2019s energy-hungry technology has revived decommissioned coal-fired and fossil fuel power plants and caused substantial environmental and social damage.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager and one of the <\/span>world’s largest financiers of climate destroying fossil fuels<\/span><\/a>, has just dived headlong into climate-destroying Bitcoin. Early in January, <\/span>the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission\u2019s (SEC) approved a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) from BlackRock<\/span><\/a>, the iShares Bitcoin Trust. This move positions BlackRock as one of the lead stakeholders in Bitcoin\u2019s carbon emissions (which rival small countries) and large water and energy usage, which contradicts BlackRock’s climate commitments. Meanwhile, other financial institutions like <\/span>JPMorgan Chase<\/span><\/a> and <\/span>Vanguard<\/span><\/a> have chosen to steer clear of unsustainable, energy hungry cryptocurrency.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

BlackRock’s substantial investment in dirty Bitcoin now has the potential to draw a broader audience to the cryptocurrency market.<\/span><\/a> Increased support for investing in Bitcoin by large institutions such as BlackRock not only provides mainstream audiences the ability to bet on Bitcoin, it gives the illusion that Bitcoin is a secure and safe investment, thus creating a cascading effect on Bitcoin’s popularity. As Bitcoin scales, the environmental and community impacts will also expand, given the resource-intensive nature of Bitcoin mining. BlackRock must recognize the ramifications of its actions, as the ripple effect of more investors and potentially higher prices could significantly exacerbate Bitcoin’s negative environmental and community impacts.<\/span><\/p>\n

BlackRock has stated that they believe \u201c<\/span>climate risk is investment risk,<\/span><\/a>\u201d however that has not deterred them from investing in digital coal, a.k.a. Bitcoin. The inconsistency between these commitments, and the decision to invest heavily in Bitcoin, is at odds with their climate commitments. It also fails to protect investors from Bitcoin\u2019s climate risks as BlackRock has not publicly acknowledged Bitcoin\u2019s large carbon emissions, reliance on fossil fuels, and threat from unstable electrical grids and extreme weather. Bitcoin is proven to be bad for the climate, environment, and communities, examples including:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n