Crypto Industry News:

Researchers at the Technical University of Munich urge regulators to look beyond Bitcoin when it comes to considering the environmental impact of cryptocurrency mining.

According to an August 4 issue of the scientific journal Joule, researchers Ulrich Gallersdorfer, Lena Klaasen and Christian Stoll found that Bitcoin mining accounted for only 66% of the total energy consumption of the top 20 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization.

"Based on the underlying algorithms, up-to-date hash ratios, and the right mining equipment, we conclude that Bitcoin accounts for 2/3 of total energy consumption and that unexplored cryptocurrencies account for the remaining 1/3. Thus, undervalued currencies add almost 50% to satisfy Bitcoin, which alone can cause significant damage to the environment "- reads the report.

The study determined the energy consumption of altcoins by analyzing their mixing rates and mining equipment. The blockchains include Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, Bitcoin SV, Litecoin, Monero, Dash, Ethereum Classic, Zcash, Dogecoin, Bitcoin Gold, Decred, RavenCoin, MonaCoin), SiaCoin, DigiByte, Horizen, Komodo and Bytecoin.

The research team stressed that while the energy requirements of cryptocurrency mining are a cause for concern for environmentalists, much research has focused solely on Bitcoin, not all cryptocurrencies.

"Energy consumption in itself is not a problem in the context of climate change," reads the report. However, it has been found that mining of cryptocurrencies causes an unexpected burden that requires additional resources. "Increasing the number of hours to fully load some production resources can lead to fuel switching effects and local emission intensity changes," thus worsening the environmental impact.

Bitcoin pioneer Hal Finney noted back in 2009 that mining could cause an environmental nightmare due to energy demand, and this was before the creation of altcoins.

Most of the energy needed to mine Bitcoin already comes from renewable energy sources. According to a report by the research company CoinShares in December 2019, approximately 73% of BTC mining is powered by renewable energy.

Technical Market Outlook:

The BTC/USD pair has bounced from the level of $11,470, which is just below the short-term trend line support and is moving up towards the yearly high located at the level of $12,035. The momentum has increased and is back in positive territory, so the bulls are still in charge of the market. In a case of a breakout higher, the next target for bulls is seen at the level of $12,269. The key short-term support is still located at the level of $10,940 - $10,890.

Weekly Pivot Points:

WR3 - $12,981

WR2 - $12,405

WR1 - $12,075

Weekly Pivot - $11,487

WS1 - $11,099

WS2 - $10,537

WS3 - $10,124

Trading Recommendations:

Due to the level of $12,000 violation, the Bitcoin is now in the up trend on the long-term time frame. The next key target for bulls is seen at the level of $13,712 and $15,000. The key long-term technical support is located at the level of $7,897, but the zone around $9,500 - $10,500 is an important technical support as well.