A new study suggests that Bitcoin has already used more energy so far this year than in 2020.
By the end of the year, the Bitcoin network will have consumed 91 terawatts-hours (TWh) and will have already consumed more than the estimated 67 TWh for the whole of 2020, according to a Bloomberg report on Monday.
Accurate energy consumption figures are variable and not easy to calculate accurately, but the trend is clear: they are increasing. Currently, the Bitcoin electricity consumption index Bitcoin estimates that Bitcoin will consume even more 95.68 TWh by the end of the year. It is about the same as the energy consumption of the Philippines.
A separate study by Science Direct has highlighted another issue: e-waste. Electronic waste generally refers to discarded computer and electronic equipment. The report suggests that a transaction on the Bitcoin network produces 272 grams of electronic waste, most of which includes old mining equipment.
He added that Bitcoin miners “are resorting to a growing amount of short-lived hardware that could exacerbate the growth of global e-waste,” adding that its annual e-waste generation totaled 30.7 metric kilotons in May 2021.
Studying it until the end of the year, the study stated:
“Bitcoin could produce up to 64.4 metric kilotons [64,400 tons] of e-waste at the maximum Bitcoin price levels seen in early 2021 “.
Transaction e-waste accounts for about half the weight of the latest iPad. But to put it in context, Apple itself could face a massive e-waste problem with more than 1.65 billion devices operating in the ecosystem as of last year, according to CEO Tim Cook. This could cause up to 250,000 metric tons of e-waste when they become obsolete according to ZDNet.
Bitcoin accounts for approximately 0.11% of the estimated global total e-waste in 2021, which is 57.4 million metric tons, according to Statista.
Related: Green Bitcoin: The Impact and Importance of Energy Use for PoW
Bitcoin’s energy use is also reduced in context, depending on your perspective. As a percentage of global electricity consumption, Bitcoin mining (BTC) accounts for only 0.43%. This is less than the estimated 104 TWh used by refrigerators in the United States alone, according to Cambridge University.
The Onion took a more fun view of Bitcoin’s energy consumption, saying that the computing power used for BTC mining really saves humanity from destruction. The logic behind the sardonic premise is that, freed from the demands of cryptographic mining, the world’s computers “would probably apply this computing power to become self-aware and ultimately exterminate the human race.”
Although Bitcoin mining consumes a huge amount of energy, since the large migration of miners outside of China, most of it is renewable as new and relocated farms and factories connect to the United States and the United States. Canada with green energy.