Bitcoin mining is one of the activities or tasks that needs the most electrical energy. Not only do they require specialized equipment (ASICs), but they also require a large amount of electricity, which is necessary in order to maintain the margin of safety when mining Bitcoin.
It is clear that when a cryptocurrency requires a large amount of energy to mine, it is because the token has a high level of security. However, the big question is whether this high consumption can cause a global energy collapse.
What is the average energy used by mining Bitcoin?
Certainly, Bitcoin is one of the most popular cryptocurrencies on the market and this makes it an attractive option for those engaged in mining. This is mainly due to its high price, which can make mining profitable without any problem. Even some believe that even with Bitcoin’s recent crash, mining remains profitable.
Now, Bitcoin mining requires a large amount of energy (an aspect that was clarified at the beginning of the text), therefore, it is possible that some users sometimes wonder what the impact of mining Bitcoin will be worldwide.
The answer is quite simple, mining represents 0.31% of the amount of energy consumed worldwide. Although it seems a small figure, with this percentage energy could be given for a whole year to all the inhabitants of the Czech Republic.
How much is this amount of electricity to mine Bitcoin equal to?
Bitcoin mining could feed one of the countries of Central Europe, since its high consumption of 77,782 TWh is the average used by this country. However, 2 or 3 years ago, consumption was much lower.
Previously, the consumption comparison was similar to that of Switzerland and Australia, however, these countries increased their consumption significantly. It should be noted that, possibly with Halving, the mining difficulty increases along with electricity consumption.
Furthermore, with the recent drop in prices in the cryptocurrency market, electricity consumption by mining Bitcoin has gradually decreased. For the first days of March, consumption was 77,782 TWh and by the time this article was made, its consumption had decreased to a figure of 68,703 TWh.
Do the other cryptocurrencies use the same amount?
The rest of the cryptocurrencies do not consume the same amount of energy, thanks to the fact that they have different protocols that prevent their mining from requiring a large consumption of electricity.
About 500 coins that can be mined are known for now, perhaps more. However, they do not use a high percentage of electricity. While Bitcoin uses about 60% of the electricity to mine, Ethereum uses about 20% and the remaining 20% is distributed in the other cryptos.
Obtaining an exact figure about the amount of electricity used by the rest of the cryptocurrencies is considered impossible, since they only represent a small percentage. However, Ethereum does have a summary, which indicates that its consumption rate is close to 20 THh and 5 THh.
Is it possible that excessive consumption causes an energy collapse?
Bitcoin mining only represents a minimal percentage of the total use of world energy. By this is meant that the odds of an “energy collapse” are nil.
However, it can cause significant contamination, since a large percentage of Bitcoin miners are in China. This country uses carbon as one of the main sources of electricity. Which also requires a large electrical consumption, causing greater CO2 contamination.
In conclusion, even though mining a lot of energy is not used, producing the necessary electricity causes pollution, generates industrial waste, among others.
