Research estimates cryptocurrency will consume as much energy as all datecentres globally
The surge in bitcoin’s price since the start of 2021 could result in the cryptocurrency consuming as much energy as all the data centres in the world with an associated carbon footprint the same as that of London, according to research..
Alex de Vries, a Dutch economist, is the author of the research paper published in the journal Joule. De Vries created the Bitcoin Energy Consumption Index , one of the first systematic attempts to estimate the energy use of the bitcoin network, and by late 2017 he estimated the network used 30 terawatt hours (TWh) a year, the same as the whole of the Republic of Ireland.
