Washington, DC (June 30, 2023) – In response to BlackRock’s proposed Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF), Joshua Archer, Greenpeace USA’s Bitcoin Project Lead, stated, “With its proposed Bitcoin ETF, BlackRock is fanning the flames of climate crisis. At this moment, with heat waves covering the southwest and wildfire smoke filling skies across the country, the need for urgent climate action is clear. Given Bitcoin’s destructive climate record, BlackRock and its peers should engage in efforts to clean up the cryptocurrency. Instead, BlackRock is looking the other direction and actively promoting Bitcoin as a mainstream investment. This is accelerating the clock on the Bitcoin carbon time bomb by driving up its exchange value.”
Greenpeace USA’s forthcoming analysis of major banks and asset managers reveals BlackRock as one of Bitcoin’s biggest backers in the financial services industry. The asset manager is a leading investor in the Bitcoin mining industry and promotes Bitcoin adoption through its investment products and services. The energy-intensive nature of Bitcoin mining, coupled with BlackRock’s investments in the sector, raises serious concerns about the company’s contributions to environmental degradation, carbon emissions, and community impacts. Greenpeace USA continues to call on BlackRock to take meaningful action, including a meeting to address Bitcoin’s climate impacts.
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Contact: Gigi Singh, Senior Communications Specialist at Greenpeace USA (+1) 631-404-9977, [email protected]
Greenpeace USA is part of a global network of independent campaigning organizations that use peaceful protest and creative communication to expose global environmental problems and promote solutions that are essential to a green and peaceful future. Greenpeace USA is committed to transforming the country’s unjust social, environmental, and economic systems from the ground up to address the climate crisis, advance racial justice, and build an economy that puts people first. Learn more at www.greenpeace.org/usa.
