Gemini’s climate initiative to help decarbonise Bitcoin

With the help of Climate Vault, the crypto platform is purchasing carbon permits for almost 350,000 metric tons of carbon

Cryptocurrency exchange Gemini announced yesterday that it was helping to decarbonise Bitcoin through the purchase of carbon credits as part of a long-term climate initiative called Gemini Green.

The exchange is working with non-profit Climate Vault to offset the non-renewable energy used to secure Bitcoin custodied by Gemini through the purchase of carbon credits for almost 350,000 metric tons of carbon.

CEO of Gemini, Tyler Winklevoss, said, “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 decarbonising of bitcoin.”

Founded at the University of Chicago, Climate Vault aims to reduce and remove carbon pollution through the power of compliance markets. The non-profit enables companies to buy emissions permits directly from North American government-regulated carbon markets.

These permits are then “vaulted”, meaning that they can’t be used to emit carbon dioxide by other market participants. This reduces the amount of emissions allowed under the market’s cap, offsetting a quantity of CO2 equivalent to driving a car for almost a billion miles.

Lastly, Climate Vault accelerates the removal of carbon from the atmosphere by using the value of its vaulted permits to fund enterprises developing cutting-edge carbon dioxide removal (CDR) technologies.

“Slowing and ultimately reversing the total amount of CO2 entering the atmosphere is vital to preventing disruptive climate change,” explained University of Chicago Economics Professor and Climate Vault Co-founder Michael Greenstone. “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.”

Rather than taking a transaction-based approach, Gemini is determining its usage of the Bitcoin network as the fraction of mining power from which the company benefits. This makes Gemini the first crypto platform globally to offset its CO2 emissions.

The Gemini Green initiative will also see the exchange support sustainability-focused organisations through the Gemini Opportunity Fund, to which it has allocated $1 million.