Ethics of Blockchain

Background

Blockchain is a distributed database utilizing a distributed ledger. A ledger is a record-keeping system associated with financial accounts. As such, blockchain records transactions in an electronic digital format. A distributed ledger means that there is no central authority like a bank that manages the data. Instead, blockchain is stored on every computer that is running blockchain. Blockchain is secure and, because of no central authority, operates under a decentralized architecture. This makes blockchain an alluring technology to many in the 21st century. However, blockchain also brings about many ethical considerations, including concerns about its high energy usage and privacy concerns.

Discussion Excessive

One of the main ethical issues with blockchain seems to be the massive amount of environmental issues that blockchain causes. Crypto mining in the US alone the industry was responsible for an excess 27.4 million tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) between mid-2021 and 2022. This use of carbon emission in the US equals three time the amount as the US’s largest coal mine.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/georgecalhoun/2022/10/11/the-ethics-of-crypto-sorting-out-good-intentions-and-bad-actors/?sh=4115bc535c49

https://earthjustice.org/features/cryptocurrency-mining-environmental-impacts#:~:text=Top%2Ddown%20estimates%20of%20the,in%20the%20U.S.%20in%202021.

https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/cryptocurrency-environmental-impact?r=US&IR=T