Key Takeaways
- • BlackRock identified by Greenpeace USA as one of Bitcoin's largest financial backers, with significant investments in Bitcoin mining infrastructure and promotion through investment products including its proposed spot Bitcoin ETF (iShares Bitcoin Trust/IBIT).
- • Greenpeace USA contends that BlackRock's Bitcoin ETF proposal accelerates cryptocurrency adoption at a moment when climate urgency is heightened by extreme weather events, citing Bitcoin mining's energy-intensive operations and associated carbon emissions as core environmental concerns.
- • Joshua Archer, Greenpeace USA's Bitcoin Project Lead, argues BlackRock is "promoting Bitcoin as a mainstream investment" rather than engaging in efforts to address the cryptocurrency sector's environmental impact, characterizing the move as "fanning the flames of climate crisis."
- • Greenpeace USA's forthcoming analysis of major banks and asset managers will examine BlackRock's role as a leading investor in the Bitcoin mining industry, with particular focus on environmental degradation, carbon emissions, and community impacts tied to mining operations.
- • Greenpeace USA is calling on BlackRock to take "meaningful action," including a direct meeting to address Bitcoin's climate impacts and the company's role in promoting cryptocurrency adoption.
Summary
On June 30, 2023, Greenpeace USA issued a statement opposing BlackRock's proposed Bitcoin exchange-traded fund, characterizing the asset manager as one of the financial industry's biggest backers of Bitcoin. The environmental organization's criticism centers on BlackRock's dual role as both a significant investor in Bitcoin mining infrastructure and an active promoter of Bitcoin adoption through its investment products and services.
Joshua Archer, Greenpeace USA's Bitcoin Project Lead, framed the ETF proposal as environmentally counterproductive, stating that "With its proposed Bitcoin ETF, BlackRock is fanning the flames of climate crisis." Archer's statement referenced concurrent heat waves affecting the southwestern United States and widespread wildfire smoke across the country, positioning the Bitcoin ETF approval as misaligned with urgent climate action needs. He argued that BlackRock should instead be engaging in efforts to address Bitcoin mining's environmental footprint, rather than "looking the other direction and actively promoting Bitcoin as a mainstream investment."
Greenpeace USA's upcoming analysis of major banks and asset managers will examine BlackRock's investments in the Bitcoin mining sector, highlighting concerns about the energy intensity of mining operations and their contributions to environmental degradation and carbon emissions. The organization contends that BlackRock's promotion of Bitcoin through its ETF products "accelerates the clock on the Bitcoin carbon time bomb by driving up its exchange value," creating financial incentives that expand the scale of environmentally damaging mining activity.
The statement concludes with Greenpeace USA's call for BlackRock to engage in substantive dialogue on Bitcoin's climate impacts, seeking a meeting to address the company's role in advancing cryptocurrency adoption without concurrent environmental remediation. The position reflects broader environmental sector concerns about the cryptocurrency industry's energy consumption and the role of mainstream financial institutions in scaling adoption.
Joshua Archer, Greenpeace USA's Bitcoin Project Lead, framed the ETF proposal as environmentally counterproductive, stating that "With its proposed Bitcoin ETF, BlackRock is fanning the flames of climate crisis." Archer's statement referenced concurrent heat waves affecting the southwestern United States and widespread wildfire smoke across the country, positioning the Bitcoin ETF approval as misaligned with urgent climate action needs. He argued that BlackRock should instead be engaging in efforts to address Bitcoin mining's environmental footprint, rather than "looking the other direction and actively promoting Bitcoin as a mainstream investment."
Greenpeace USA's upcoming analysis of major banks and asset managers will examine BlackRock's investments in the Bitcoin mining sector, highlighting concerns about the energy intensity of mining operations and their contributions to environmental degradation and carbon emissions. The organization contends that BlackRock's promotion of Bitcoin through its ETF products "accelerates the clock on the Bitcoin carbon time bomb by driving up its exchange value," creating financial incentives that expand the scale of environmentally damaging mining activity.
The statement concludes with Greenpeace USA's call for BlackRock to engage in substantive dialogue on Bitcoin's climate impacts, seeking a meeting to address the company's role in advancing cryptocurrency adoption without concurrent environmental remediation. The position reflects broader environmental sector concerns about the cryptocurrency industry's energy consumption and the role of mainstream financial institutions in scaling adoption.
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