With headlines like “Bitcoin mining is disastrous for the environment – it is time for governments to intervene” and “Bitcoin consumes more electricity than Argentina”, it’s understandable that the public could be concerned. Contrary to these alarming headlines, however, there is emerging evidence that bitcoin mining is actually a net positive for the environment, and why the current narrative being portrayed is antithetical to the truth. For family offices interested in cryptocurrency exploring new investment avenues, bitcoin puts forward a good case.
Why does bitcoin mining use so much energy?
The first thing to note is that bitcoin mining actually doesn’t consume nearly as much energy as most would think. In concrete terms, the amount of energy that the world produces every year is 162,194 TWh. Out of that, bitcoin uses as much as 189 TWh, which equates to only 0.1% of total global energy production. Additionally, the gold industry uses 21% more energy than bitcoin, the banking sector uses 28% more, and even the global energy consumption of televisions is estimated to be 33% more than bitcoin. The military-industrial complex also produces approximately 5,580% more greenhouse gas emissions than bitcoin.
