Energy consumed by cryptocurrencies, bitcoin, in particular, has piqued the interest of many people. Some news reports have suggested that energy used by bitcoin network had equaled the total consumption of electricity consumed by medium-sized countries. An article published in nature climate change warned that alone bitcoin emission could push global warming by 2 degrees. Bitcoin skeptics have used this rhetoric previously too. Now a recent report has been circulating on the internet that says bitcoin uses more electricity than Switzerland, which crypto community has called out as rubbish.
The report claims bitcoin uses 61.6 Terrawtt hours, which is equal to 0.28 percent of all global electricity consumed. As of July 2019, the report ranks bitcoin above Switzerland and Greece, who use 58.46 and 56.89 Twh. According to many reports, around 60 to 70% of total bitcoin mining is done in remote areas of China where electricity is generated through hydro or wind resources. The claim that bitcoin mining is adding to global warming has been called bizarre by the crypto community.
Some reports have claimed that bitcoin mining could consume all the world’s energy by 2020. Which sounds outrageous, some crypto community members have compared these reports to that of what was said about the internet in the early 90s. Even Forbes published a report predicted that half of the electric grid would be powering the digital-Internet economy in the next decade.
