How Much Energy Does Bitcoin Actually Consume? - Deepstash
Ask for a Raise

Learn more about moneyandinvestments with this collection

How to close the deal

How to handle objections

How to present your value to your employer

Ask for a Raise

Discover 64 similar ideas in

It takes just

9 mins to read

Bitcoin does consume a large amount of energy

Bitcoin does consume a large amount of energy

According to the Cambridge Center for Alternative Finance (CCAF), Bitcoin currently consumes around 110 Terawatt Hours per year 0.55% of global electricity production, or roughly equivalent to the annual energy draw of small countries like Malaysia or Sweden.

19

674 reads

The energy it should consume depends on your feeling about it

The energy it should consume depends on your feeling about it

If you believe that Bitcoin offers no utility beyond serving as a ponzi scheme or a device for money laundering, then it would only be logical to conclude that consuming any amount of energy is wasteful. If you are one of the tens of millions of individuals worldwide using it as a tool to escape monetary repression, inflation, or capital controls, you most likely think that the energy is extremely well spent.

17

86 reads

Energy consumption ≠ Carbon emission

Energy consumption ≠ Carbon emission

The energy consumption to mine is easy to estimate: You can just look at its hashrate (i.e. the total combined computational power used to mine Bitcoin and process transactions), and then make some educated guesses as to the energy requirements of the hardware that miners are using.

To calculate associated carbon emission you need to know energy mix i.e the makeup of different energy sources used by computers mining bitcoin. Mining is an intensely competitive business, and miners tend not to be particularly forthcoming around the details of their operations making it even harder to calculate.

16

66 reads

Bitcoin got hydro power

Bitcoin got hydro power

Bitcoin can make use of hydropower which is not accessible to most. This is one of the reasons why some locations in china are heartlands of mining where production of such energy outpaces demand.

Another source of energy is natural gas which is a byproduct of oil extraction. It pollutes the environment but miners are leveraging this to mine. A minor player but some suggest natural gas from the US and Canada alone can run an entire bitcoin network.

15

70 reads

Consumes more energy than using it

Consumes more energy than using it

Many journalists and academics talk about Bitcoin’s high “per-transaction energy cost,” but this metric is misleading.

Bitcoin’s energy consumption happens during the mining process. Once coins have been issued, the energy required to validate transactions is minimal. Simply looking at Bitcoin’s total energy draw to date and dividing that by the number of transactions doesn’t make sense, most of that energy was used to mine Bitcoins, not to support transactions

15

63 reads

The bitcoin protocol & expected reduction in energy consumption

People sometimes assume that bitcoin will commandeer entire energy grids. It likely won't.

First, because the energy mix of bitcoin grows less reliant every year. Eg US is shifting to ESG focused miners and china recently banned coal-based mining.

Secondly, miners receive small fees for the transactions that they verify while mining, as well as whatever profit margins they can get when they sell the bitcoins they have mined, and the bitcoin protocol, is built to halve this issuance-driven component of miner revenue every four years. The financial incentive to invest will naturally decrease.

15

60 reads

CURATED BY

yugjain

Generalist. Great minds discuss ideas, average minds discuss events, small minds discuss people.

stash-superman-illustration

Explore the World’s

Best Ideas

200,000+ ideas on pretty much any topic. Created by the smartest people around & well-organized so you can explore at will.

An Idea for Everything

Explore the biggest library of insights. And we've infused it with powerful filtering tools so you can easily find what you need.

Knowledge Library

Powerful Saving & Organizational Tools

Save ideas for later reading, for personalized stashes, or for remembering it later.

# Personal Growth

Take Your Ideas

Anywhere

Organize your ideas & listen on the go. And with Pro, there are no limits.

Listen on the go

Just press play and we take care of the words.

Never worry about spotty connections

No Internet access? No problem. Within the mobile app, all your ideas are available, even when offline.

Get Organized with Stashes

Ideas for your next work project? Quotes that inspire you? Put them in the right place so you never lose them.

Join

2 Million Stashers

4.8

5,740 Reviews

App Store

4.7

72,690 Reviews

Google Play

Ashley Anthony

This app is LOADED with RELEVANT, HELPFUL, AND EDUCATIONAL material. It is creatively intellectual, yet minimal enough to not overstimulate and create a learning block. I am exceptionally impressed with this app!

“

Sean Green

Great interesting short snippets of informative articles. Highly recommended to anyone who loves information and lacks patience.

“

Shankul Varada

Best app ever! You heard it right. This app has helped me get back on my quest to get things done while equipping myself with knowledge everyday.

“

samz905

Don’t look further if you love learning new things. A refreshing concept that provides quick ideas for busy thought leaders.

“

Jamyson Haug

Great for quick bits of information and interesting ideas around whatever topics you are interested in. Visually, it looks great as well.

“

Giovanna Scalzone

Brilliant. It feels fresh and encouraging. So many interesting pieces of information that are just enough to absorb and apply. So happy I found this.

“

Laetitia Berton

I have only been using it for a few days now, but I have found answers to questions I had never consciously formulated, or to problems I face everyday at work or at home. I wish I had found this earlier, highly recommended!

“

Ghazala Begum

Even five minutes a day will improve your thinking. I've come across new ideas and learnt to improve existing ways to become more motivated, confident and happier.

“

Read & Learn

20x Faster

without
deepstash

with
deepstash

with

deepstash

Access to 200,000+ ideas

—

Access to the mobile app

—

Unlimited idea saving & library

—

—

Unlimited history

—

—

Unlimited listening to ideas

—

—

Downloading & offline access

—

—

Personalized recommendations

—

—

Supercharge your mind with one idea per day

Enter your email and spend 1 minute every day to learn something new.

Email

I agree to receive email updates