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The True Cost of Cryptocurrency

Provided by: Our Changing Climate |Published on: April 27, 2021

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Synopsis

In this video, Our Changing Climate explains what cryptocurrency is, the issues associated with it (specifically the huge amount of energy required to use it), the colonialism that may be a product of it, and possible solutions to make it more sustainable.
The video provides a number of specific examples, graphs of global data, and highlights the current use of fossil fuels to provide the majority of the energy required.

Subjects: Economics, Computer Science

Authors: Our Changing Climate

Region: Africa, North America, United States, Global, Oceania

Languages: English

Positives

This video is well-researched and explains complicated concepts in a way that is easy to understand.
The video is divided into chapters, which allows the viewer to skip to relevant sections.
The graphics and animations help with comprehension.

Prerequisites

Some cryptocurrency jargon is used, including terms such as proof-of-work, proof-of-stake, and mining.
Students should be familiar with Watt hours and the metric system.
There may be an ad before the video, and there is a sponsored ad at the end that can be skipped.

Differentiation & Implementation

This video talks about crypto colonialism, which can be tied into lessons about modern or historic colonialism in social studies classes.
Cryptocurrency is decentralized, so this video could be included when talking about banking and modern-day money in an economics class.
Another possible activity is a debate where some students argue for cryptocurrency, and others argue against it, using the data provided in the video.
Some related resources are this article, China’s Bitcoin Mining is Threatening Its Climate Change Targets, Study Says, this StC lesson plan CryptoClimate: Exploring Cryptocurrency and Climate Change, and this article, Bitcoin Consumes 'More Electricity Than Argentina'.

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