BBC - Bitcoin.Can something which has no physical presence consume as much electricity as an entire country?

As if in answer to my post on here yesterday - https://steemit.com/energy/@ijavee/why-you-could-soon-have-a-nuclear-power-plant-in-your-kitchen

The BBC this morning -

Can something which has no physical presence consume as much electricity as an entire country?

The internet has recently been awash with claims that the digital currency Bitcoin could be using more electricity than a number of developed nations. So Reality Check wants to know: how did they work it out, and is it true?

Although it has been around since 2009, the digital currency, or crypto-currency, has been dominating headlines across the globe recently thanks to its soaring value.

Bitcoin: what's behind the gold rush?
Unlike the notes or coins in your pocket, Bitcoin is not printed by governments or traditional banks and largely exists online.

Around 3,600 new bitcoins are created every day through a complex process known as "mining", where computers are rewarded with a bitcoin for processing mathematical equations through specialised software.

Except this isn't only a handful of computers processing these equations, but thousands of machines all over the world running day and night - that's a lot of electricity.

And as bitcoins increase in value, more and more machines are being plugged in and switched on by amateurs and professionals alike to mine them.

Given their digital nature, there's understandably been a growing curiosity about how much electricity is actually being used to produce bitcoins.

'As much electricity as Denmark'

Link to full BBC article -

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-42265728