Yes. junk science. Basically it’s the 2923 NUTimes hit piece trying to have a second coming as a piece of science, and failing.
DARI did a thorough debunking of it here
nostr:nprofile1qqsglmzzvfrcgk7aymek4e8hxaggc9wmasrag08p37xpx64euddvyysppemhxue69uhkummn9ekx7mp08w6g8e Have you seen the paper in Nature that quantified the PM2.5 pollution attributable to Bitcoin mining in the U.S.? Any comments?
One thing that stuck out was "Fossil fuel power plants generated 85% of the increased electricity demand from Bitcoin mines, including 138 coal-fired and 497 natural gas-fired plants."
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-58287-3#auth-Gianluca-Guidi-Aff1-Aff2-Aff3
Discussion
2023