I was dismayed to read that Bitcoin proof of work consensus, the decentralized network of computers confirming transactions and validating the accuracy of the Bitcoin ledger consume a lot of energy. I was more concerned when I learned that all the Bitcoin miners in the world put together actually consume more energy then some entire countries. However, I also think that all facts must be evaluated in their proper context.
If I tell you of a guy who sneaks into homes on Christmas eve carrying a large bag of valuables, who arrives and leaves without being detected, you might automatically think he or she was a burglar or thief. But if I told you this fellow was Santa Claus, and he was actually leaving things of value, instead of taking them, you would have proper context to make a decision about whether he was bad or good.
It is with this in mind that I realized that perhaps I didn’t possess the proper context to evaluate whether Bitcoin was bad or good based on only one set of facts and no context. So, I researched this subject more.
Picture Source
I began my investigation by starting with the often-quoted statement that Bitcoin uses more electricity then the entire country of Argentina. I researched this statement and found this statement to be supported by the references. So just like Santa Claus was indeed seen entering and leaving peoples homes with a big bag of stuff on his shoulder, Bitcoin uses a lot of electricity. But just like the in the case of Santa Claus I wanted to find out more; I wanted to collect facts and understand the context.
For example this chart I found in a BBC article entitled Bitcoin uses more electricity than Argentina ref This is a provocative title for sure and the references cited supported this claim.
China
USA
India
Japan
Russia
Germany
Canada
Brazil
South Korea
France
United Kingdom
Saudi Arabia
Italy
Mexico
Spain
Taiwan
Iran
Turkey
Australia
Indonesia
South Africa
Thailand
Egypt
Vietnam
Malaysia
Sweden
Ukraine
Norway
And …Bitcoin at #29
Followed by Argentina at #30
The global annual energy consumption of Bitcoin is 188 tetrawatts.
This places it 29th on the list of the top 30 energy consuming nations.
201 tetrawatts is the total annual energy consumed by Christmas lights in the USA alone.
6,800 tetrawatts, is the total amount of energy wasted by renewable energy producers each year, due to inadequate battery storage capacity and poor matching of production with demand in the USA alone.
No one lobbies against Christmas Lights to save the environment!
No one lobbies against renewable energy to save the environment!
… there are other factors in deciding whether something is bad or good.
Remember that Renewable Energy Producers waste 6800 tetrawatts of energy per year?
Bitcoin is using some of that lost energy
Bitcoin miners now use renewable energy for 57.1 % of its total energy consumption.
In the USA the country wide use of renewable energy sits at 37% of all energy consumed. So by that measure alone Bitcoin is doing better than the entire USA, the second largest energy consumer on the planet.
Bitcoin uses 188 tetrabites per year
Bitcoin uses 57% renewable energy
Bitcoin miners run 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
Bitcoin miners pay there electricity bills.
Now consider this...
Steady predictable energy usage spread out equally over the day.
Reliable payment for services.
Therefore Bitcoin may actually be Good for the environment, by saving the renewable energy sector.
What do you think?
Perhaps Bitcoin isn’t the environmental villain it’s accused of being?
Perhaps the world is not as simple as people would like you to believe?
Perhaps doing your own research into a topic can indeed lead you to a completely different conclusion then Bitcoin is all bad, or Bitcoin is all good.
Maybe Bitcoin is like everything else in the world a little bit of both?
Do you know of any other ways Bitcoin effects the environment?
https://www.iea.org/countries/argentina
https://www.statista.com/statistics/542264/consumption-of-electricity-in-argentina/
https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-56012952
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/energy/finance/bitcoin-consumption-beats-argentinas-annual-energy-use/31867
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_electricity_consumption
https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/energy-consumption-by-country