NewsBTC
No Result
View All Result
  • Cryptocurrency News
    • Bitcoin News (BTC)
    • Ethereum News (ETH)
    • Ripple News (XRP)
    • Shiba Inu News (SHIB)
    • Cardano News (ADA)
    • Dogecoin News (DOGE)
    • Solana News (SOL)
    • Litecoin News (LTC)
    • Avalanche News (AVAX)
    • Polygon News (MATIC)
  • Crypto Prices
    • Binance Coin (BNB) Price
    • Bitcoin (BTC) Price
    • Cardano (ADA) Price
    • Chainlink (LINK) Price
    • Dogecoin (DOGE) Price
    • Ethereum (ETH) Price
    • Litecoin (LTC) Price
    • Polkadot (DOT) Price
  • Crypto Resources & Directory
  • All Crypto
  • Play GamesTry
  • CasinosTry
Breaking News: Bitcoin Hits ATH Of $112,000, Expert Predicts Rally Is Just Beginning
  • Cryptocurrency News
    • Bitcoin News (BTC)
    • Ethereum News (ETH)
    • Ripple News (XRP)
    • Shiba Inu News (SHIB)
    • Cardano News (ADA)
    • Dogecoin News (DOGE)
    • Solana News (SOL)
    • Litecoin News (LTC)
    • Avalanche News (AVAX)
    • Polygon News (MATIC)
  • Crypto Prices
    • Binance Coin (BNB) Price
    • Bitcoin (BTC) Price
    • Cardano (ADA) Price
    • Chainlink (LINK) Price
    • Dogecoin (DOGE) Price
    • Ethereum (ETH) Price
    • Litecoin (LTC) Price
    • Polkadot (DOT) Price
  • Crypto Resources & Directory
  • All Crypto
  • Play GamesTry
  • CasinosTry
Bitcoin News
No Result
View All Result
Breaking News: Bitcoin Hits ATH Of $112,000, Expert Predicts Rally Is Just Beginning

Bitcoin’s Energy Consumption Equalled That of Hungary in 2018

Davit Babayan
Davit Babayan
6 years ago
3 mins read

Reason to trust

Strict editorial policy that focuses on accuracy, relevance, and impartiality
Created by industry experts and meticulously reviewed
The highest standards in reporting and publishing
How Our News is Made

Strict editorial policy that focuses on accuracy, relevance, and impartiality

Ad discliamer

Morbi pretium leo et nisl aliquam mollis. Quisque arcu lorem, ultricies quis pellentesque nec, ullamcorper eu odio.

Bitcoin miners consumed as much as energy in 2018 as Hungary, according to Alex de Vries.

The researcher at the Netherlands’ PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) branch studied bitcoin’s global energy consumption all across the year. He found that existing hydropower projects were not sufficient in sustaining the cryptocurrency mining operations, adding that the bitcoin network demanded as much as 62.3 TWh power. The power of such scale could single-handedly serve a Hungary or a Switzerland.

More than Banks

The revelation followed years of debates about whether or not bitcoin is anti-environment. Skeptics criticize the decentralized financial network for contributing to global warming because each node in the system requires electricity to sustain itself. That is how machines process mathematical problems – by injecting vast computing power – that eventually mine and confirm bitcoin transactions on the network. As a result, the entire mining operation generates heat, as well as increase power demand supplied by fossil power plants.

On the other hand, supports argue that banks, which bitcoin aims to replace, consume far more resources with a massive carbon footprint. Per them, banks issue paper cash using environmental-unfriendly chemicals, consume power with their location-bound local offices and server warehouses, and allow their employees to travel using gas-inefficient armored cars, etc.

But De Vries belongs to the skeptics’ lot. In his journal, the blockchain researcher wrote that bitcoin miners were consuming 12,000 times more resources than the maximum carbon footprint of transactions processed by the banking industry. He also said that bitcoin supporters switched to renewable energy, but that didn’t correctly solve the issue.

Bitcoin Can Never Be Green

21/ #Bitcoin’s utilization of the electrical capacity consumes magnitudes less electricity than existing fiat systems which not only have power requirements banking infrastructure, but the military and political machina. The energy tradeoff is a “net positive” outcome. pic.twitter.com/uB2bnx9IKI

— Dan Held (@danheld) September 14, 2018

De Vries said that bitcoin mining operations would constantly demand energy even if they switch from fossil to renewable energy. The researcher cited the hydropower plans in China’s Sichuan province, which were generating three times more power during the wet summer months than during the dry winter season. These plants used coal-based energy to meet the miners’ demand, given the cryptocurrency mining operations were not designed to shut down before they generate profits.

“Based on these findings, the renewable energy currently used in bitcoin mining cannot be considered ‘green’, and this challenge of combining a constant energy requirement with a variable production of renewables will always exist,” says de Vries. “It could even provide an incentive for the construction of new coal-fired power plants to meet the higher base demand.”

Studies Fundamentally Flawed

Eric Masanet, an energy modeling scholar at Northwestern University, referring to one of the studies related to bitcoin mining activity and global warming conducted by Camilo Mora et al. pointed out certain severe fundamental flaws. He claimed that the global electric power sector was taking massive steps towards decarbonization. Masanet believed that a policy-driven decrease in fossil power supply would eventually lead the bitcoin mining rigs to rely on green electricity – and other scholars shouldn’t ignore these facts. Excerpts from his statement:

“It appears the authors have overlooked these trends in their projections, while simultaneously insisting on tremendous growth in cryptocurrency adoption, resulting in inflated and dubious estimates of future carbon emissions.”

 

 

Correction: Eric Masanet’s comment was erroneously misrepresented to give an impression that all studies related to the environmental impacts of cryptocurrency are flawed. It has since then been corrected.

Tweet123Share196ShareSend
Davit Babayan
Davit Babayan

Davit Babayan

Davit Babayan is an Armenia-based expat balancing the academic life of a software design engineer with the experiences of a financial technology journalist. He aspires to be a full-time columnist and wants to write a book that would be called, "A Homeless Who Found Bitcoin."

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Disclaimer: The information found on NewsBTC is for educational purposes only. It does not represent the opinions of NewsBTC on whether to buy, sell or hold any investments and naturally investing carries risks. You are advised to conduct your own research before making any investment decisions. Use information provided on this website entirely at your own risk.

Related News

Bitcoin

Bitcoin Hits ATH Of $112,000, Expert Predicts Rally Is Just Beginning

On Wednesday afternoon, Bitcoin (BTC) surged to a remarkable all-time high (ATH) of $112,022, breaking free from its previous consolidation...

Ronaldo Marquez 3 hours ago
Bitcoin

Last Crash Before The Surge: Why Bitcoin Is Set To Drop Below $107,000

A new analysis shows that Bitcoin (BTC) may be on the verge of a calculated price crash that could take...

Scott Matherson 4 hours ago
Dogecoin price news

Dogecoin To $3.94 This Cycle? This Chart Says It’s No Meme

In a monthly chart shared on July 8, crypto analyst Kevin (@Kev_Capital_TA) outlined a long-term bullish thesis for Dogecoin (DOGE),...

Jake Simmons 5 hours ago
Load More

Reason to trust

Strict editorial policy that focuses on accuracy, relevance, and impartiality
Created by industry experts and meticulously reviewed
The highest standards in reporting and publishing
How Our News is Made

Strict editorial policy that focuses on accuracy, relevance, and impartiality

Ad discliamer

Morbi pretium leo et nisl aliquam mollis. Quisque arcu lorem, ultricies quis pellentesque nec, ullamcorper eu odio.

Related News

Bitcoin Price Attempts a Comeback

Bitcoin Breakout Alert — Price Turns Green as Bulls Step In

Aayush Jindal 1 hour ago
Bitcoin 30-Day Average Funding Rate Drops – Bullish Setup Takes Shape

Bitcoin 30-Day Average Funding Rate Drops – Bullish Setup Takes Shape

Sebastian Villafuerte 1 hour ago
Bitcoin vs Ethereum

Bitcoin Moving With Stocks, But Ethereum’s Correlation Is Fading

Keshav Verma 2 hours ago

Premium Sponsors

Press Releases

  • Ripple XRP Investors Making $10,9700 Per Day with This...

    1 hour ago
  • 仮想通貨プレセール|次世代ビットコイン拡張プロジェクトが200万ドル目前、投資家が続々と参加中

    ...

    12 hours ago
  • 仮想通貨おすすめ|ビットコインが過去最高値に迫る中、ETFが70万トークンを保有

    ...

    12 hours ago
  • 新しい仮想通貨が160万ドルを調達──過剰な宣伝を避ける注目のミーム系ボット登場

    ...

    12 hours ago
  • 仮想通貨おすすめ|ビットコインが10万8,000ドル突破、2025年7月に注目の17銘柄

    ...

    13 hours ago

Newsletter

Be the first to get the latest important crypto news & events to your inbox.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

About Us

NewsBTC is a cryptocurrency news service that covers bitcoin news today, technical analysis & forecasts for bitcoin price and other altcoins. Here at NewsBTC, we are dedicated to enlightening everyone about bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.

We cover BTC news related to bitcoin exchanges, bitcoin mining and price forecasts for various cryptocurrencies.

Disclaimer: The information found on NewsBTC is for educational purposes only. It does not represent the opinions of NewsBTC on whether to buy, sell or hold any investments and naturally investing carries risks. You are advised to conduct your own research before making any investment decisions. Use information provided on this website entirely at your own risk.

Company

  • About Us
  • Advertising
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Center

Social

© 2025 NewsBTC. All Rights Reserved.

  • Cryptocurrency News
    • Bitcoin News (BTC)
    • Ethereum News (ETH)
    • Ripple News (XRP)
    • Shiba Inu News (SHIB)
    • Cardano News (ADA)
    • Dogecoin News (DOGE)
    • Solana News (SOL)
    • Litecoin News (LTC)
    • Avalanche News (AVAX)
    • Polygon News (MATIC)
  • Crypto Prices
    • Binance Coin (BNB) Price
    • Bitcoin (BTC) Price
    • Cardano (ADA) Price
    • Chainlink (LINK) Price
    • Dogecoin (DOGE) Price
    • Ethereum (ETH) Price
    • Litecoin (LTC) Price
    • Polkadot (DOT) Price
  • Crypto Resources & Directory
  • All Crypto
  • Play Games
  • Casinos
Advertise

© 2025 NewsBTC. All Rights Reserved.

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy Center or Cookie Policy.