- Detractors usually grab the “Bitcoin massive energy consumption” cliche to rage on the leading cryptocurrency.
- Headlines like “Bitcoin consumes more electricity than Argentina” do not represent a fair explanation of Bitcoin energy consumption.
- The entire Bitcoin network consumes only 0.075% of all energy in the world.
Concerns regarding Bitcoin energy consumption have turned into a cliche, and a weapon for every non-enthusiast to use against the leading cryptocurrency. Various sources rage on about Bitcoin’s carbon footprint with different stats. For example, BBC claims that Bitcoin consumes more electricity than Argentina, CNBC declares that the cryptocurrency consumes more electricity than the entire annual energy consumption of the Netherlands, and so forth. But, without exaggeration, how much actually is the total Bitcoin network energy consumption?
Saylor Argument on Bitcoin Power Consumption
MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor, who is known for his unconditional support towards Bitcoin, appeared on Kitco News and expressed how Bitcoin energy consumption is mostly distorted. Michael called those who exaggerate the matter as “entitled rich white males,” who he further described as villains who aim to deprive the mainstream of economic self-preservation.
Saylor, with the help of some solid statistics, demonstrated that the total Bitcoin network consumes only 0.075% of all the energy in the world. In his own words:
The world generates 160,000 TWh of energy a year, of that 50,000 TWh of energy is wasted like thirty percent, of that 120 TWh is used to run the entire bitcoin network.
“The truth of the matter is, everything in the world uses more power than a small country,” Saylor stated, exposing how headlines regarding Bitcoin energy consumption are mostly misleading. Saylor also accuses Bill Maher, an American comedian who attacked Bitcoin calling it an environment-destroying Ponzi scheme, of using ten times more energy than the energy used in the entire Bitcoin network to enrich himself.
Breaking Down the Data
Using the above stats and doing some mathematics, we can see that the total energy used to power the entire Bitcoin network amounts to 0.25% of all the wasted energy. In other words, one quarter of one percent of the wasted energy in the world is all the energy the entire Bitcoin network consumes.
The “Bitcoin is bad for the environment” and “Bitcoin uses tons of energy” arguments have been debunked multiple times by various people. Director of Growth Marketing at Kraken, Dan Held, for example, explained in a long Twitter thread how Bitcoin is the most efficient existing financial system and how any alternative would only exacerbate the environmental concerns.
