Bitcoin’s actual energy consumption is questioned while Ethereum founder criticizes BTC

The perpetually angry debate over Bitcoin’s energy consumption was reignited when Ethereum founding member Anthony Donofrio claimed that Bitcoin uses “far too much” energy.

According to figures from Digiconomist, Bitcoin (BTC) currently consumes 0.82% of the world’s energy, while Ethereum (ETH) consumes 0.34%. Ethereum researcher Justin Drake released the numbers to his 56,000 followers, which Donofrio retweeted, stating:

If bitcoin really uses nearly 1% of the energy on earth, that’s way too much for a pet stone. https://t.co/CDL32jk5FF

— Texture, PhD (@iamtexture) June 9, 2022

Ethereum proponents are trying to take a shot at Bitcoin while promoting Ethereum’s upcoming transition to Proof-of-Stake, Drake added another tweet shortly after which read: “Ethereum post-merge: 0.000% of the world.”

However, the significance of the figures is doubtful.

Even Drake had to acknowledge alternative data sources in a later tweet, which estimated energy consumption figures to be almost 60% lower.

Data from Digiconomist, which markets itself as a platform that “uncovers the unintended consequences of digital trends,” has drawn criticism from blockchain industry professionals in the past. The most notable of these is fellow Ethereum developer Josh Stark, who cried out the release for often presenting the worst-case scenario in terms of blockchain technology.

Last November, Stark posted a Twitter thread questioning the accuracy of Digiconimist’s research methodology. Stark pointed out that almost all blockchain energy consumption numbers are at the “very high end” of all theoretical results, especially when compared to more rigorous sources like the University of Cambridge.

While Digiconomist claims that Bitcoin currently consumes 204 terawatt hours (TWh) of electricity per year, the University of Cambridge’s Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index estimates that Bitcoin’s actual consumption is much closer to 125 TWh, a difference of 39%.

Related: Are we wrong about the environmental impact of bitcoin mining? Slush Pool CMO Kristian Csepcsar explains.

While it may be a well-known fact that Bitcoin’s proof-of-work consensus mechanism is an energy-consuming process, debate over how much electricity the Bitcoin network actually consumes remains a hot topic.

According to a Cointelegraph report, it can be quite difficult to come up with a specific number for actual bitcoin power consumption due to the different energy sources that power bitcoin mining around the world.

As of January this year, nearly 60% of the world’s mining operations have reportedly been powered by renewable energy sources, and Bitcoin miners are rushing to exploit “stranded” natural gas resources that would normally be flared. Additionally, a report published by CoinShares in January this year found that Bitcoin mining may account for just 0.08% of the world’s total carbon emissions in 2021.

Sam Tabar, chief security officer at Bit Digital, a publicly traded bitcoin mining company, told Cointelegraph that critics often exaggerate bitcoin’s environmental impact:

“The environmental impact of bitcoin mining is being massively exaggerated by critics and traditional financial authorities (IMF etc.) because they know they can split a new counterculture movement by using bogus environmental arguments. They’re trying to turn us against each other. They are igniting the world with bogus green arguments, and I understand why: They don’t want to lose grip on the levers of power in a system that only works for the elite.”

Learn Crypto Trading, Yield Farms, Income strategies and more at CrytoAnswers
https://nov.link/cryptoanswers