Can Cryptocurrencies Be Sustainable? AI-Based CO₂ Emission Forecasting

Home > 2025, Volume 16, Issue 2, 2025 > Can Cryptocurrencies Be Sustainable? AI-Based CO₂ Emission Forecasting

Published: April 20, 2026

Download PDF

| Download HTML

Authors

Sanjeewani Sehgal and Divya Mehta

DOI Number
https://doi.org/10.15415/jtmge/2025.162008

Keywords
CO2 emissions, Cryptocurrency, Sustainability, Energy consumption, Blockchain, Neural network analysis

Abstract

Purpose: This study evaluates the energy consumption and environmental impact of blockchain supported cryptocurrency systems, focusing on CO₂ emissions generated by Bitcoin mining. It investigates the relationship between cryptocurrency economics, energy usage, and ecological sustainability, and assesses the future viability of cryptocurrencies as a global financial system in alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Methods: A quantitative time series forecasting approach was adopted using 5030 days of historical CO₂ emission data obtained from the Cambridge Blockchain Network Sustainability Index (CBECI). Three energy scenarios, hydroelectric power, coal based power, and mixed energy sources, were analyzed. A Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) neural network model was implemented to predict future emission trends and evaluate sustainability outcomes under each scenario.

Findings: The results indicate that hydroelectric energy produces the lowest CO₂ emissions as the most sustainable option, while coal-based mining results in the highest emissions, representing the worst-case scenario. The mixed energy model provides a feasible compromise, significantly reducing emissions compared to coal while maintaining mining efficiency. These findings identify certain environmental risks associated with energy intensive mining practices and emphasize the urgent need for sustainable operational strategies.

Implications: This research contributes to blockchain sustainability literature by providing a predictive framework for environmental assessment. Policymakers can leverage these insights to design regulations promoting renewable energy integration, while industry practitioners can adopt energy efficient mining models to reduce carbon footprints and achieve long term sustainability.

Originality: The study uniquely integrates deep learning-based forecasting with large scale longitudinal emission data to conduct scenario-based sustainability analysis, offering dynamic insights beyond conventional static evaluations.

References

Alter, M. (2019). Carl Menger and the origins of Austrian economics. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429033520
Ammous, S. (2018). Can cryptocurrencies fulfil the functions of money?. The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, 70, 38–51. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.qref.2018.05.010
Antonopoulos, A. M., & Harding, D. A. (2023). Mastering Bitcoin: Programming the open blockchain. O’Reilly Media, Inc.
Badea, L. (2017). Cryptocurrency—A new trend in the business world?. Proc. BASIQ, 1, 62–70. https://basiq.ro/papers/2017/Badea.pdf
Badea, L., & Mungiu-Pupӑzan, M. C. (2021). The economic and environmental impact of bitcoin. IEEE Access, 9, 48091–48104. https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2021.3068636
Bal, A. (2015). How to tax bitcoin?. In Handbook of digital currency (pp. 267–282). Academic Press. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-802117-0.00014-X
Belkhir, L., & Elmeligi, A. (2018). Assessing ICT global emissions footprint: Trends to 2040 & recommendations. Journal of Cleaner Production, 177, 448–463. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.12.239
Calvo-Pardo, H. F., Mancini, T., & Olmo, J. (2022). Machine learning the carbon footprint of bitcoin mining. Journal of Risk and Financial Management, 15(2), 71. https://doi.org/10.3390/jrfm15020071
Chuen, D. L. K., & Teo, E. (2021). The new money: the utility of cryptocurrencies and the need for a new monetary policy. In Disintermediation Economics: The Impact of Blockchain on Markets and Policies (pp. 111-172). Cham: Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-65781-9_7
Corbet, S., Lucey, B., Urquhart, A., & Yarovaya, L. (2019). Cryptocurrencies as a financial asset: A systematic analysis. International Review of Financial Analysis, 62, 182–199. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.irfa.2018.09.003
Darlington III, J. K. (2014). The future of Bitcoin: Mapping the global adoption of world’s largest cryptocurrency through benefit analysis. https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_chanhonoproj/1770
Das, D., & Dutta, A. (2020). Bitcoin’s energy consumption: Is it the Achilles heel to miner’s revenue?. Economics Letters, 186, 108530. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econlet.2019.108530
De Vries, A. (2020). Bitcoin’s energy consumption is underestimated: A market dynamics approach. Energy Research & Social Science, 70, 101721. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2020.101721
De Vries, A. (2021). Bitcoin boom: What rising prices mean for the network’s energy consumption. Joule, 5(3), 509–513. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joule.2021.02.006
Dyhrberg, A. H. (2016). Bitcoin, gold and the dollar–A GARCH volatility analysis. Finance Research Letters, 16, 85–92. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.frl.2015.10.008
ElBahrawy, A., Alessandretti, L., Kandler, A., Pastor-Satorras, R., & Baronchelli, A. (2017). Evolutionary dynamics of the cryptocurrency market. Royal Society Open Science, 4(11), 170623. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.170623
Fenu, G., & Surcis, S. (2009, March). A cloud computing based real time financial system. In 2009 Eighth International Conference on Networks (pp. 374–379). IEEE. https://doi.org/10.1109/ICN.2009.71
Fernández‐Villaverde, J. (2018). Cryptocurrencies: A crash course in digital monetary economics. Australian Economic Review, 51(4), 514–526. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8462.12306
Forbes. (2024a). Present status of Bitcoin cryptocurrency by market capitalization. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/digital-assets/crypto-prices/?sh=2ee90b8a2478
Forbes. (2024b). Present status of Ethereum cryptocurrency by market capitalization. https://www.forbes.com/digital-assets/crypto-prices/?sh=597ce5a82478
Giudici, G., Milne, A., & Vinogradov, D. (2020). Cryptocurrencies: Market analysis and perspectives. Journal of Industrial and Business Economics, 47(1), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40812-019-00138-6
Goel, A., Goel, A. K., & Kumar, A. (2023). The role of artificial neural network and machine learning in utilizing spatial information. Spatial Information Research, 31(3), 275–285. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41324-022-00494-x
Goodkind, A. L., Jones, B. A., & Berrens, R. P. (2020). Cryptodamages: Monetary value estimates of the air pollution and human health impacts of cryptocurrency mining. Energy Research & Social Science, 59, 101281. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2019.101281
Graham, F. D. (1940). The primary functions of money and their consummation in monetary policy. The American Economic Review, 30(1), 1–16. https://www.jstor.org/stable/1814476
Huynh, A. N. Q., Duong, D., Burggraf, T., Luong, H. T. T., & Bui, N. H. (2022). Energy consumption and Bitcoin market. Asia-Pacific Financial Markets, 29(1), 79–93. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10690-021-09338-4
Jayawardhana, A., & Colombage, S. (2020). Does blockchain technology drive sustainability? An exploratory review. Governance and Sustainability, 17–42. https://doi.org/10.1108/S2043-052320200000015002
Jevons, W. S. (1989). Money and the mechanism of exchange. In General equilibrium models of monetary economies (pp. 55–65). Academic Press. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-663970-4.50009-8
Katsiampa, P. (2017). Volatility estimation for Bitcoin: A comparison of GARCH models. Economics Letters, 158, 3–6. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econlet.2017.06.023
Kethineni, S., & Cao, Y. (2020). The rise in popularity of cryptocurrency and associated criminal activity. International Criminal Justice Review, 30(3), 325–344. https://doi.org/10.1177/1057567719827051
Kubát, M. (2015). Virtual currency bitcoin in the scope of money definition and store of value. Procedia Economics and Finance, 30, 409–416. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2212-5671(15)01308-8
Küfeoğlu, S., & Özkuran, M. (2019). Bitcoin mining: A global review of energy and power demand. Energy Research & Social Science, 58, 101273. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2019.101273
Lamine, A., Jeribi, A., & Fakhfakh, T. (2024). Spillovers between cryptocurrencies, gold and stock markets: Implication for hedging strategies and portfolio diversification under the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Economics, Finance and Administrative Science, 29(57), 21–41. https://doi.org/10.1108/JEFAS-09-2021-0173
Li, J., Li, N., Peng, J., Cui, H., & Wu, Z. (2019). Energy consumption of cryptocurrency mining: A study of electricity consumption in mining cryptocurrencies. Energy, 168, 160–168. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2018.11.046
Li, X., Peng, L., Yao, X., Cui, S., Hu, Y., You, C., & Chi, T. (2017). Long short-term memory neural network for air pollutant concentration predictions: Method development and evaluation. Environmental Pollution, 231, 997–1004. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2017.08.114
Lutz, J. K. (2018). Coexistence of cryptocurrencies and central bank issued fiat currencies-A systematic literature review. https://ssrn.com/abstract=3303252
Majumder, S. B. (2025). Is cryptocurrency a new digital gold? Evidence from the macroeconomic shocks in selected emerging economies. Journal of Economic Studies, 52(1), 88–103. https://doi.org/10.1108/JES-08-2023-0410
Manahov, V. (2024). The rapid growth of cryptocurrencies: How profitable is trading in digital money?. International Journal of Finance & Economics, 29(2), 2214–2229. https://doi.org/10.1002/ijfe.2778
Mora, C., Rollins, R. L., Taladay, K., Kantar, M. B., Chock, M. K., Shimada, M., & Franklin, E. C. (2018). Bitcoin emissions alone could push global warming above 2 C. Nature Climate Change, 8(11), 931–933. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-018-0321-8
Moreno, J. J. M., Pol, A. P., Abad, A. S., & Blasco, B. C. (2013). Using the R-MAPE index as a resistant measure of forecast accuracy. Psicothema, 25(4), 500–506. https://doi.org/10.7334/psicothema2013.23
Nasir, A., Shaukat, K., Khan, K. I., Hameed, I. A., Alam, T. M., & Luo, S. (2020). What is core and what future holds for blockchain technologies and cryptocurrencies: A bibliometric analysis. IEEE Access, 9, 989–1004. https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2020.3046931
Nguyen, C. T., Hoang, D. T., Nguyen, D. N., Niyato, D., Nguyen, H. T., & Dutkiewicz, E. (2019). Proof-of-stake consensus mechanisms for future blockchain networks: Fundamentals, applications and opportunities. IEEE Access, 7, 85727–85745. https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2019.2925010
Rahman, A. J. (2018). Deflationary policy under digital and fiat currency competition. Research in Economics, 72(2), 171–180. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rie.2018.04.004
Rogic, M. (2018). Countries that legally accept Bitcoin (BTC). https://theoofy.com/22223/countries-that-legally-accept-bitcoin-btc/
Schinckus, C. (2020). The good, the bad and the ugly: An overview of the sustainability of blockchain technology. Energy Research & Social Science, 69, 101614. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2020.101614
Selgin, G. (2014). Bitcoin: Problems and prospects. https://www.hillsdale.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/FMF-2014-Bitcoin-Problems-and-Prospects.pdf
Statista. (2024). de Best, R.: Number of cryptocurrencies worldwide from 2013 to January 2025. Statista. https://www.statista.com/statistics/863917/number-crypto-coins-tokens/
Sunny, M. A. I., Maswood, M. M. S., & Alharbi, A. G. (2020, October). Deep learning-based stock price prediction using LSTM and bi-directional LSTM model. In 2020 2nd Novel Intelligent and Leading Emerging Sciences Conference (NILES) (pp. 87–92). IEEE. https://doi.org/10.1109/NILES50944.2020.9257950
Taskinsoy, J. (2019). Global cooling through blockchain to avoid catastrophic climate changes by 2050. Available at SSRN 3495674. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3495674
Truby, J. (2018). Decarbonizing Bitcoin: Law and policy choices for reducing the energy consumption of blockchain technologies and digital currencies. Energy Research & Social Science, 44, 399–410. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2018.06.009
UNDP. (2015). United Nations Development Programme: Sustainable development goals. https://www.undp.org/sustainable-development-goals
von Hayek, F. A. (1934). Carl Menger. Economica, 1(4), 393–420. https://doi.org/10.2307/2549123
Yermack, D. (2024). Is Bitcoin a real currency? An economic appraisal. In Handbook of digital currency (pp. 29–40). Academic Press. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-323-98973-2.00014-9

How to Cite

Sanjeewani Sehgal and Divya Mehta. Can Cryptocurrencies Be Sustainable? AI-Based CO₂ Emission Forecasting. J.Technol. Manag. Grow. Econ.. 2025, 16, 103-116

Can Cryptocurrencies Be Sustainable? AI-Based CO₂ Emission Forecasting

Current Issue

Periodicity	Biannually
Issue-1	June
Issue-2	December
ISSN Print	0976-545X
ISSN Online	2456-3226
RNI No.	CHAENG/2016/68678

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Articles in Journal of Technology Management for Growing Economies(J.Technol. Manag. Grow. Econ.) by Chitkara University Publications are Open Access articles that are published with licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution- CC-BY 4.0 International License. Based on a work at https://tmg.chitkara.edu.in/. This license permits one to use, remix, tweak and reproduction in any medium, even commercially provided one give credit for the original creation.

View Legal Code of the above-mentioned license, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode

View Licence Deed here https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Journal of Technology Management for Growing Economies by Chitkara University Publications is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Based on a work at https://tmg.chitkara.edu.in/

Search by keyword or author

Can Cryptocurrencies Be Sustainable? AI-Based CO₂ Emission Forecasting

Authors

Abstract

References

How to Cite

Current Issue

Visibility, Memberships and Ethics

Chitkara University

Publisher

Corporate Office

Editorial Office

Explore Your Potential

Search by keyword or author

Can Cryptocurrencies Be Sustainable? AI-Based CO₂ Emission Forecasting

Authors

Abstract

References

How to Cite

Current Issue

Visibility, Memberships and Ethics

Chitkara University

Follow us on:

Publisher

Corporate Office

Editorial Office

Explore Your Potential