Bloomberg: This year Bitcoin miners are consuming much more electricity

A study by the well-known company Bloomberg showed that by the end of 2021, bitcoin miners will consume more than 91 TWh of electricity, while last year this industry used about 67 TWh.

For quite a long period of time, bitcoin has been criticized because the mining of this cryptocurrency harms the environment. The data published by Bloomberg only increased the “intensity of emotions”. According to the company’s report, the current year’s electricity consumption for bitcoin mining amounted to 91 TWh, which is similar to the indicators of an entire country, for example, Pakistan. At the same time, this figure is not a constant. The Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index (CBECI) shows that electricity consumption has already increased to 95 TWh. This indicator differs significantly from the previous calculation results of 141 TWh. This figure appeared in reports before the Chinese government banned mining. After the transfer of mining capacities to Kazakhstan, Canada and other countries, the energy consumption for bitcoin mining began to grow again. According to employees of the University of Cambridge, renewable sources provide electricity for only 39% of the capacity needed for bitcoin mining. In this regard, the electricity spent on the creation of BTC in the amount of 58 TWh contributes to an increase in the volume of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. A similar result can be achieved by burning 21 billion liters of gasoline. This situation leads to the fact that many participants of the cryptocurrency community are making efforts to “green up” the mining process. The Argo Blockchain company in March of this year published information about the planned launch of the first eco-friendly bitcoin mining pool. Its main difference from the traditional versions will be that the functioning of this innovative model will be based on the energy received from the operation of hydroelectric power plants. However, recently, Tesla CEO Elon Musk criticized the too slow transition of the crypto industry to renewable energy sources.