Bitcoin power consumption
As a keen environmentalist I wanted to know the truth. Whilst bitcoin does have undeniable CO2 emissions (greatly exaggerated by vested interests) the more obscure environmental upside of Bitcoin is potentially huge ! Money, Finance, Energy & Climate are for more intertwined than anyone ever realised.
Bitcoin (live) power consumption = World TeraHash x Bitcoin Average J/THash
(calculating) x (calculating) = (calculating) GW
Bitcoin Mining Annual Power Consumption = Watts x Hours
= (Calculating) TWh
Bitcoin Mining Annual CO₂ Emissions = Power x gCO₂/kWh
(Calculating) x
= (Calculating) MtCO₂
(Calculating) - (Calculating) Mitigation = (NetCO) MtCO₂
All calculations are Bitcoin BTC ONLY. Although hash rate is climbing, mainly due to vast improvements in ASIC efficiency. Bitcoin's emissions are starting to plateau due to improvements in overall Grid carbon intensity.
Halving events may cull some of the less efficient mining operations causing a brief dip in power consumption.
The dotted blue line is MT CO₂ minus mitigation such as mining with Methane + Home/ Business heating. Other mitigating factors not included are mining curtailment/ demand response schemes taking advantage of cheap clean but intermittent renewables & banking sector curtailment.
The large drop in emissions during 2021 is due to the China mining ban followed by the subsequent move of much of the hash rate to the US where grid carbon intensity is generally lower.
Halving events may cull some of the less efficient mining operations causing a brief dip in power consumption.
The dotted blue line is MT CO₂ minus mitigation such as mining with Methane + Home/ Business heating. Other mitigating factors not included are mining curtailment/ demand response schemes taking advantage of cheap clean but intermittent renewables & banking sector curtailment.
The large drop in emissions during 2021 is due to the China mining ban followed by the subsequent move of much of the hash rate to the US where grid carbon intensity is generally lower.
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For comparison the Three Gorges Dam the largest dam in the world has a generating capacity of 22.5 GW or 2 x Bitcoin
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All Currencies have an environmental cost.
- Paper money (fiat) AKA the “Petro Dollar” is backed by Oil, The US military, requires Banks. Banks need Electricity, Fossil fuel for heating and vehicles, staff, staff travel, helicopters & private jets
- Gold requires mining consuming vast amounts of fossil fuels, eviromental destruction, vehicles & transportation.
- Bartering has the hassle of converting cows to fractions of houses plus remembering who owes what to who and maybe having to forcefully remind them when they conveniently forget.
Where does Bitcoins energy go ?
Bitcoins power consumption serves three purposes
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≈ 98% Block reward
Mining gold requires hard work, so does Bitcoin
- Proof Of Work - The block reward is currently 6.25 BTC 
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≈ 2% Transaction fees
Additional reward for processing transactions. Like melting, distributing gold bars and coins
Typically 0.1 - 0.7 BTC per block 
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0.0008% Bitcoin nodes
10,000s of nodes storing & verifying every transaction ever.
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When the gold's gone most miners will pack up and go home
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By 2028 over 98% coins will be mined & by 2140 virtually all coins will be mined. Subsequent Halving's of the block reward every 4 years coupled with tech advances will make it much easier to simply buy rather than mine.
Miners will be increasingly hashing for transaction fees + an increasingly tiny block reward, the "Gold Rush" will be over considerably reducing power consumption, leaving the world with a much more slimline incorruptible economic backbone of world money. No more bailouts ! The real cost of Banks. |
Bitcoin electricity per transaction
It takes roughy 244,608 kWh to mine 1 Bitcoin.
It takes roughly 25kWh to mine 1 Bitcoin transaction.
This one transaction could contain 10s-10,000s of Lightning or Batched transactions.
Below Bitcoins power consumption separated into Block reward & Transaction fees.
It takes roughly 25kWh to mine 1 Bitcoin transaction.
This one transaction could contain 10s-10,000s of Lightning or Batched transactions.
Below Bitcoins power consumption separated into Block reward & Transaction fees.
The average Bitcoin transaction is roughly £200,000 with a carbon footprint of 5.47kg. Bearing in mind it could be sent to the far side of the world, an armoured car carrying gold bars may clock up the same carbon foot print just driving a couple of miles down the road.
Even better 1 lightning transaction or channel opened, may close a year later having performed a virtually limitless amount of transactions ! Now you’re dividing that by 1000s ! We’re talking a carbon footprint of less than an email !
Even better 1 lightning transaction or channel opened, may close a year later having performed a virtually limitless amount of transactions ! Now you’re dividing that by 1000s ! We’re talking a carbon footprint of less than an email !
Bitcoin & Technology.
Improvements in mining efficiency are the primary driver of increasing hash rate, not so much brute power. Proof of work is also derived from better ASIC design & working smarter EG using or monetising waste heat to heat buildings or swimming pools.
2009 In 2009 you could mine on a regular PC
97,000,000 J/THs 2023 - Bitmain S21 Mining now is only profitable on dedicated hardware such as a Bitmain S21 ASIC 200TH 3500 Watts
17.5 J/THs |
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Bitcoin vs EV's & the Grid
As large loads on the the grid increase, the more integrated they have to become. The last thing the grid needs is 2 million EVs plugging in during peek demand, or GW of electricity going to Bitcoin mining when it is required for A/C during a heat wave. Fortunately both these types of load can be, & already are very flexible in avoiding peek demand times.
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Global Electric Vehicle sales continue to grow exponentially with 28M EVs on the road in 2022.
Here's a comparison of EV charging (Car + Bus + Lorry) vs Bitcoin electricity consumption. While the trajectory of EV electricity consumption is relatively easy to predict, Bitcoin is not so easy, many unknown factors like government policy & Halvenings. 
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Emission savings from switching to Electric Vehicles already dwarf Bitcoin emissions, contrary to Alex De Vries (Dogdyconomist) dogma. The emission savings of switching from banking to Bitcoin could be MUCH larger !
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Which will be the perfect companion for electrical power generation ? Predominantly EVs. Both are already happening, all that is required is a variable price signal from the supplier, Miners & EV chargers will happily gobble up all that cheap clean electricity but EVs have the flexibility advantage.
EV Pros
Bitcoin pros
Bitcoin cons
EV Pros
- EVs can Pause charging when load is high (demand response)
- EVs are idle for 90% of their life offering greater flexibility as to when they charge, possibly going weeks without need
- EVs will be a MUCH bigger load than Bitcoin. As an 2 X EV driver I know they account for half of my total energy consumption.
- EVs can incentivise renewable build out
- EVs are already responding to cheap off peak electricity on a large scale by charging at night for 1/4 the price
- EVs can return electricity to the grid at peek times (Vehicle To Grid)
Bitcoin pros
- Large scale mining is / can easily be integrated / colocated with power generation allowing great coordination
- Bitcoin can incentivise renewable build out
- Small scale demand response such as home mining for heat can be turned off during peek demand with variable tariff schemes such as Octopus saving sessions and Octoplus
Bitcoin cons
- Industrial scale Bitcoin miners need much greater up time (>80%) to remain profitable.
- Despite all the "BITCOIN WILL BOIL THE OCEANS 😱" FUD, Bitcoins Power Consumption / Emissions are not currently, & may never be that big of a deal. Is that a con ? 🤷🏻♂️
Interesting Facts
- If entire Bitcoin mining network consisted of the most efficient air cooled miner (Bitmain S21 200TH), it would require- 2,050,000 units. (410,000,000TH / 200TH), Consuming 2,050,000 x 3500W = 7.2GW or 63 TWh/year
- Bitcoins highest recorded power consumption hit 13.9 GW in December 2023
Sources Links & Related Articles
Bitcoin Mining Council - bitcoinminingcouncil.com
Miner Daily - Moore’s Law vs Bitcoin ASICs and Network Growth
Green Bitcoin - Miners Demand Cleaner Energy
Bitcoin Stats - Bitinfocharts
Check out the - bitcoin mining museum
Miner Daily - Moore’s Law vs Bitcoin ASICs and Network Growth
Green Bitcoin - Miners Demand Cleaner Energy
Bitcoin Stats - Bitinfocharts
Check out the - bitcoin mining museum
