What’s next for bitcoin and crypto? The trends to watch in 2022

What’s next for bitcoin and crypto? The trends to watch in 2022

The debate on cryptocurrency is still raging, as countries decide whether to embrace, regulate or ban cryptocurrencies.

On top of this, the energy-intensive sector has recently come under fire from climate experts.

Crypto experts share their predictions for 2022.



From El Salvador adopting bitcoin as legal tender - a world first - to China banning all cryptocurrency transactions, 2021 was an eventful year in the world of digital currencies.

Will 2022 hold more surprises? We asked five crypto experts what to look out for.

Environmental fallout

The steady growth of the cryptocurrency industry over the years has drawn more attention to its carbon footprint.

Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are created or "mined" by high-powered computers competing to solve complex mathematical puzzles, which guzzle energy and fuel planet-warming emissions unless they run on power from renewable sources.

Bitcoin mining is currently estimated to account for about 0.5% of global electricity consumption, using up more power than Sweden does in a year, according to an index compiled by the University of Cambridge.













Steam rises from a cooling tower of the Electricite de France (EDF) nuclear power station in Civaux, France, October 8, 2021.





Image: REUTERS/Stephane Mahe