Gemini, one of the earliest crypto exchanges that were started in 2014, has announced the launch of Gemini Green, an initiative that would be looking to bring climate-conscious practices into the crypto industry.
The crypto industry has long been blamed for using up a lot of electricity as part of its mining activities and the same criticism by Elon Musk on Bitcoin has really shone the light on this aspect of the business. We are now seeing some companies taking up this cause to remove the criticism and also show themselves to be environmentally conscious.
Gemini is tying up with Climate Vault and would be purchasing carbon permits from them that are valued at around $350K annually as part of its first efforts to stay carbon neutral in the long run. The company hopes that by removing these permits from the system and thereby ‘vaulting’ them, it would not allow other crypto companies to purchase these permits in exchange for emitting CO2 and other harmful gases.
“As bitcoin emerges as a dominant store of value, it’s imperative that we incorporate sustainability for future generations. We are proud to team up with Climate Vault to offset our exposure to non-renewable mining and contribute to the decarbonizing of bitcoin,” said Tyler Winklevoss, CEO of Gemini.
The company plans to use the valued carbon permits to promote research and work on removing carbon emissions and take the crypto industry towards being carbon neutral. This is a planned three-step process from the company to slow down the carbon emissions by purchasing carbon permits from approved government agencies and then locking them away and thus forcing others also to reduce their carbon emissions. This would slow down the emissions and ultimately remove the same helping the environment in the long run and would also help to shed some positive light on the crypto industry.
“Slowing and ultimately reversing the total amount of CO2 entering the atmosphere is vital to preventing disruptive climate change. Climate Vault is providing a simpler, faster, and more reliable path to net-zero emissions, not just for traditional businesses, but now – thanks to Gemini – for the innovative world of cryptocurrency,” said Michael Greenstone, Milton Friedman Distinguished Service Professor of Economics at the University of Chicago and Co-Founder of Climate Vault.
The company also announced that it would allocate $1 million to support companies and projects that would help to improve the sustainability of the crypto business.
