Cryptocurrencies

The Global Solidarity Levies Task Force is exploring a solidarity levy on cryptocurrency as it is a fast-growing sector, which is undertaxed and highly energy intensive.

Cryptocurrencies have quickly become a significant market asset, with the value reaching approximately 3 trillion in November 2021. Cryptocurrencies have a significant environmental footprint due to the energy-intensive process of mining – the ‘proof of work’ processes by which many digital currency units (like Bitcoin) are created, and transactions are verified on a blockchain network. According to the IMF, the global demand for electricity by crypto miners reached that of Australia or Spain, resulting in 0.33% of global CO2 emissions in 2022, with the process of authenticating one Bitcoin transaction equivalent to roughly three years of electricity consumption for a typical Ghanaian, or three months for a typical German.