Wall Street Rebuked for Investments in Energy-Guzzling Bitcoin

Nine of the nation’s biggest financial institutions have collectively invested $1.5 billion in bitcoin, despite making climate promises that contradict the technology’s high energy use, according to a Tuesday report from an environmental advocacy group.

The paper from Greenpeace USA pins the blame on BlackRock, Fidelity, Vanguard, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Visa, Mastercard, and American Express.

“We’ve seen more rhetoric than action,” said Joshua Archer, Greenpeace USA’s Bitcoin project lead. “They’re not walking the walk on their climate commitments.”

Among that group, BlackRock—with $598 million invested in mining companies—was the ...