The minimum energy usage attributable to Bitcoin activity, as of this week, is 43.8 terawatt-hours (TWh) per year, and its estimated actual energy demand is 176.83 TWh per year, according to Digiconomist. For comparison, that estimate is the equivalent of a bit more than 16 weeks of average energy usage in the entire Philippines (based on the total usage of 562 TWh in 2019, according to Department of Energy data).
A 2018 study by researchers from the University of Hawaii and published in the journal Nature conservatively estimated (based on 2017 data) that emissions related to Bitcoin alone would contribute 2 degrees Celsius to global warming by 2048, if its energy demand remained at the same level, which it has not; Bitcoin energy use has increased by between 282 percent and 432 percent since the end of 2017.
Climate goals will fail as long as cryptocurrency exists
The minimum energy usage attributable to Bitcoin activity, as of this week, is 43.8 terawatt-hours (TWh) per year, and its estimated actual energy demand is 176.83 TWh per year, according to Digiconomist. For comparison, that estimate is the equivalent of a bit more than 16 weeks of average energy usage in the entire Philippines (based…
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