Bitcoin mining uses less energy than Xmas lights

With the holiday season upon us, who isn’t rejoicing to see our cities all lit up with cheerful Christmas lights? We do not necessarily think about the amount of energy it costs, because it provides us joy.

What would you say if you knew that the asset that provides us monetary independence (which is not less important, to say the least) uses even less energy than Xmas lights? Moreover, this energy is 65.9% renewable – the highest sustainable energy mix across all countries and industries.

#Bitcoin #Mining Council led by Michael Saylor has recently released its Q3 2021 report, and it confirms how insignificant Bitcoin ecological impact is, especially when comparing with other industries.

Bitcoin has been eco-bullied for many years now, with people comparing it to the energy use of small countries and often forgetting how inconsistent and meaningless such comparison is.

So let’s do it once and for all. Yes, Bitcoin uses more electricity than Finland. Now, Finland is a country of 5.5M people, which represents 0.07% of the global population. Moreover, these comparisons do not take into account all the oil used to fuel Finnish industry and people’s transportation  – and if we are concerned by the greenhouse gas, it is a major contributor.

If you want to compare Bitcoin mining energy use, you must compare it with a global industry, like gold mining for example. While Bitcoin is often called the “digital gold”, it is much more efficient, because it provides not only the store of value, but also the ease of transfer – and all this using only 1/3 of the gold mining energy, and with an energy mix of mostly renewables.

Do your math ?