Bitcoin Will Consume More Power Than the Whole World by 2020
Cryptocurrencies are all the rage these days, especially Bitcoin. However, it might become a serious issue for the world by 2020.
But Why?
Mining Bitcoin or any other cryptocurrency consumes a massive amounts of energy. For example, a transaction worth a single Bitcoin uses the same amount of energy consumed by a house in an entire month.
According to a recent report, the process of generating a Bitcoin (Bitcoin mining) now requires 33TWh of energy per annum which is same as Denmark’s power requirements.
Previously, it was estimated that Bitcoin mining costs more energy than a country the size of Serbia, Bahrain, or Ireland. But those estimates have now been revised.
Bitcoin mining’s energy usage, which’s jumping at a rate of 25% per month, will likely consume as much electricity as the entire US in 2019. Moreover, it is estimated that Bitcoin will use up as much energy as the whole world by 2020.
This is a severe problem with PoW blockchain technologies that I’m interested in following during 2018. Will currencies that rely on mining adapt to minimize energy usage? Or will pre-mined and DAG distributed ledger texhnology be the tak of 2018? Interested in hearing your thoughts.