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Bitcoin: Consumes More Electricity than all of Switzerland
Bitcoin consumes a quarter of one percent of the world’s electricity, according to a new report by CBECI (Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index). When compared to countries use of electricity, Bitcoin ranks at 40, consuming more electricity than countries like Switzerland. The results of the report are consistent with the information reported on the Formek blog in late 2017.
The bulk of Bitcoin’s electricity consumption is from Bitcoin miners working to mine the digital currency. Compared to traditional payment systems, Bitcoin is inefficient. For example, the energy required to power a single Bitcoin transaction is equivalent to the power needed for more than 300,000 Visa credit card transactions.
Bitcoin’s impact on the environment is now a worry, especially since many of the miners are in China and use coal-powered electricity.
A report from the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) said that “put in the simplest terms, the quest for decentralized trust has quickly become an environmental disaster.”