Why Bitcoin Mining Energy Consumption is More Than the Total Energy Argentina Uses
Bitcoin mining has proved not to be environmentally friendly. The process results in carbon emissions and high energy consumption.
What Happens During Bitcoin Mining?
In a nutshell, the Bitcoin mining process involves constantly running several powerful graphic cards at a high speed. The process verifies Bitcoin transactions in addition to creating them.
Bitcoins are scarce but their demand is very high. Thus, its miners resort to using powerful graphic cards that are available. In return, the setup consumes thousands of electricity Watts.
High Energy Consumption Levels
According to a report from Energy Tracker, the Bitcoin mining process uses more energy than the total consumption of Argentina, a country with an estimated population of 45 million people.
Additionally, most Bitcoin processes do not result in yields that can enable their holders to meet the energy costs of processing them. Every year, the Bitcoin mining processes use around 121.36 terawatt-hours of electricity. Given the increasing demand for the digital currency, the energy consumption level will rise.
Given the energy that the Bitcoin mining processes use equates to 0.5% of the global electricity consumption, the situation is worrying because the consuming agent is not even a country.
The Demand for Bitcoins
Currently, the demand for Bitcoins does not show any sign of dropping. The demand and purchases from corporate clients, such as Tesla that acquired $1.5 billion worth of Bitcoins, are pushing the demand for the digital currency even higher.
Despite the criticism from environmental activists, the mining processes continue to rise unabated. It will take a significant price drop in the value of a Bitcoin to reduce its demand.
Even if there is a looming bubble drop in the demand for digital currency, the hardware companies will still have a window to develop powerful Bitcoin mining hardware thus driving the demand for the digital currency up.
The Final Say
Only time will tell about the eventual outcome in terms of energy consumption in Bitcoin mining processes.
Watch the video below on Bitcoin’s Energy Consumption for more information.
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