Cut Carbon – Abandon Bitcoin

Bitcoin is more than a rather volatile imitation currency, it is also a huge energy monster.

The digital “mining” to create more Bitcoins and the recording of transactions uses up vast, crazy, amounts of electricity – something like 70TWh a year. That is about the same as Austria, say 20% of UK power consumption.  As an added horror much if it is done in China where most of the power is coal generated.

All that adds up to a CO2 output from Bitcoin stuff of about 35mt a year. Planet friendly it definitely aint.

There are websites set up to track how much is being burned:

Did you know?
Ever since its inception Bitcoin’s trust-minimizing consensus has been enabled by its proof-of-work algorithm. The machines performing the “work” are consuming huge amounts of energy while doing so. The Bitcoin Energy Consumption Index was created to provide insight into this amount, and raise awareness on the unsustainability of the proof-of-work algorithm.

They also track Etherium, probably the second most recognised Crypto Currency.  That is considerably cleaner, which is to say merely horrific, in it’s energy consumption.

Go Green, use VISA, or Mastercard, or Cash, or swap pigs for haircuts. Pretty much anything else really.