Why Is Mining Bitcoin Using So Much Electricity?

(2022年08月31日)

Regarding the environmental cost of cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin is not exceptional, but its fame and particularly ineffective consensus method make it an easy target.

The underlying blockchain technology, however, may hold the secret to a more environmentally friendly future. It is a known truth that Bitcoins are traded nonstop, around the clock, throughout the year on cryptocurrency exchanges.

Concerns regarding the damaging impacts of Bitcoin mining on the environment and how it uses fossil fuels have been voiced by campaigners and environmentalists.

This article elaborates on the causes of bitcoin mining's high electricity consumption.

What is Bitcoin Mining
Computers are employed in bitcoin mining, a process that creates new currencies by using complicated mathematical equations or puzzles. Cryptocurrencies require mining in order to operate because they are built on a decentralized network.

For users using the network, it typically takes the Bitcoin mining software 10 minutes to process a block and solve the challenging program.

Bitcoin Mining
What is the connection between Bitcoin mining and fossil fuels?
The use of fossil fuels is crucial to the cryptocurrency industry. Electricity produced by fossil fuels is frequently used for cryptocurrency mining. More people join the Bitcoin network as a result of the rising price of bitcoin and the corresponding spike in energy demand as miners mine more coins.

According to a University of Cambridge analysis, Bitcoin uses more than 120 Terawatt Hours (Twh) annually.

Why is mining bitcoin using so much electricity?
To purchase and sell bitcoin, you simply need to point and click or tap on your smartphone.

For decades, we have had technology that essentially accomplishes the same for different types of digital transactions. But Bitcoin's massive carbon emissions footprint is driven by its decentralized architecture.

Bitcoin requires computers to tackle increasingly difficult math problems in order to verify transactions. It takes a lot more energy to operate this proof-of-work consensus process than most people understand.

The miner who solves the mathematical equation the quickest not only validates the transaction but also receives a modest payment in Bitcoin as compensation for their trouble.

In Bitcoin’s early days, this process didn’t consume nation-state amounts of electricity. But inherent to the cryptocurrency’s technology is for the math puzzles to become much, much harder as more people compete to solve them—and this dynamic will only accelerate as more people attempt to buy into Bitcoin.

Electricity is being used by several miners who are competing for rewards. Even though millions of computers are competing to solve the same issue, only one will finally be awarded the Bitcoin prize.

Additionally, this process takes a very long time: Each Bitcoin transaction takes up to 10 minutes. A new block is mined in that amount of time.

Other digital transactions, such as those supported by Visa, move more quickly and use less electricity. For instance, Visa can process about 1,700 transactions per second (TPS), whereas Bitcoin can only process 4 TPS.

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