Crypto Platform Purchases Carbon Allowances for Nearly 350,000 Metric Tons of CO2 Through Climate Vault
Cryptocurrency exchange Gemini announced yesterday that it will help reduce Bitcoin’s carbon footprint by purchasing carbon credits as part of a long-term climate program called Gemini Green.
Gemini will now offset all non‑renewable energy used to custody the exchange’s Bitcoin holdings. To accomplish this, Gemini partnered with the nonprofit Climate Vault and purchased carbon allowances equivalent to nearly 350,000 metric tons of CO2.
Tyler Winklevoss, CEO of Gemini, said: “As Bitcoin increasingly becomes a dominant store of value, it is absolutely essential that we prioritize sustainability for the sake of future generations. We are proud to partner with Climate Vault to offset our non‑renewable mining footprint and help reduce Bitcoin’s carbon emissions.”
Founded at the University of Chicago, Climate Vault aims to reduce and remove CO2 pollution through allowances and regulatory mechanisms. The nonprofit enables companies to buy emissions allowances directly from various government‑regulated carbon markets across North America.
These purchased allowances are “vaulted,” meaning they are taken out of circulation and cannot be used by other actors in the market to emit CO2. Removing those allowances lowers the total permitted emissions under the market cap and reduces carbon pollution by an amount comparable to driving nearly one million miles.
In addition to retiring allowances, Climate Vault accelerates atmospheric cleanup by directing investments from those purchases to support companies developing cutting‑edge carbon dioxide removal (CDR) technologies.
“Slowing and ultimately reversing the total amount of carbon in the atmosphere is essential to prevent harmful climate change,” explained University of Chicago economics professor and Climate Vault founder Michael Greenstone. “Climate Vault provides a simpler, faster, and more reliable path to net‑zero—not just for traditional companies but now, thanks to Gemini, for cryptocurrencies as well.”
Rather than focusing on individual transactions, Gemini evaluates its overall use of the Bitcoin network and the energy required to secure its holdings. With this move, it becomes the first crypto platform in the world to fully neutralize its carbon emissions associated with custodying Bitcoin.
The Gemini Green initiative also allocated $1 million to the Gemini Opportunity Fund to support organizations focused on sustainability.