When the enigmatic Satoshi Nakamoto minted the world’s first cryptocurrency in 2009, the plan was to create a decentralized payments platform that would revolutionize how we buy and sell everything.
The point of Bitcoin, according to Nakamoto’s founding white paper, was to enable quick, borderless transactions.
More than a decade on, it’s undeniable that Bitcoin has gone mainstream, but perhaps not in quite the way Nakamoto imagined. Instead of facilitating everyday transactions, cryptocurrencies have by and large become speculative assets, a sort of digital gold, attracting investors who believe they’ll be able to resell their holdings for big profits in the future.
The digital gold rush has come with a catch: Massive electricity consumption.
It’s estimated that Bitcoin consumes electricity at an annualized rate of 127 terawatt-hours (TWh). That usage exceeds the entire annual electricity consumption of Norway. In fact, Bitcoin uses 707 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity per transaction, which is 11 times that of Ethereum.
Of course, Bitcoin isn’t unique among cryptocurrencies in terms of its environmental burden, but its popularity and uniquely inefficient consensus mechanism make it an easy scapegoat. Meanwhile, the blockchain technology that underlies it could be the key to a greener future.
Why Does Bitcoin Consume So Much Energy?
Conceptually, it doesn’t seem like Bitcoin should require enormous amounts of electricity. All you have to do is point and click or tap on your smartphone to buy and sell the cryptocurrency. We’ve had technology that does much the same for other sorts of digital transactions for decades.
…
READ MORE
Url: https://www.forbes.com/advisor/ca/investing/cryptocurrency/bitcoins-energy-usage-explained
AND…
Buy Bitcoin Now! We are located in Toronto 🏡.
☎️ 437-886-3221
✉️ cynthiaafrica@outlook.com
🌎 http://www.cynthiaabrafi.wordpress.com
Contact me to see the offers before you miss out on our greatest deals on the market or call us @ 437-886-3221 and leave a voicemail.
CAB Kiosk - Virtual 