A Story of Fire and Water: Cryptocurrency, Nomad Miners, and the Environment

15:40-17:00, Tuesday, September 30, 2025

I-206, Boxue Building

Dr. Ye YUAN is a tenured associate professor at the School of Economics, Peking University. His research focuses on health economics, development economics, and environmental economics. He has been the principal investigator of two National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) projects. His research has been published in academic journals such as the Journal of Public Economics, Journal of Development Economics, Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Journal of Comparative Economics, The Lancet, and Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization.

Cryptomining is highly energy-intensive, yet its nature of high mobility hinders monitoring and governance. Exploiting seasonal fluctuations in hydroelectric supply in the world's (former) largest mining hub, we uncover a novel nomadic pattern: mining operations shift from hydro- to coal-dependent regions during the dry season and reverse in the wet season, leading to seasonal shifts in pollution emissions. We estimate a pollution-health cost of $0.75 for every $1 of coal-powered Bitcoin, compared to near zero for hydro-powered Bitcoin. Our results point to dynamic and coordinated electricity pricing as a policy lever for regulating this mobile, energy-intensive industry.

For more information of the seminar, scan the following QR code(s) to join Tencent QQ group (904 544 292) or WeChat group named "IAER Seminar (4)", please.

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(QR code is valid until October 1, 2025)