Hi,
Following the recent FUD spread by Elon Musk, I thought it was necessary to tell the truth about the energy consumption of Bitcoin compared to traditional banking and the gold industry.
What was the FUD spread by Elon Musk?
In a recent tweet Elon Musk attacked the Bitcoin network by calling the energy consumption to secure the network 'insane', causing a sell-off among new investors in the crypto market. But how much energy does Bitcoin consume when comparing it to its counterparts? Bitcoin does, indeed, consume a lot of energy, but so does the banking system and the gold industry, two industries with much higher energy consumption records.
Why did Elon Musk spread these rumors?
It's anyone's guess, he likes to tweet, much like the former President of the United States, Donald Trump, and is as flexible as Trump when it comes to telling the truth about a subject he obviously doesn't fully understand. It is one thing to send a short tweet, it's another thing to do the proper research and compare Bitcoin to the right industries it can compete with. One day he will get it right. For now, I assume he did quite a few people a huge favor by scaring newbies out of the market. And out of their money.
The Bitcoin, banking and gold industry's energy consumption compared!
In a recent academic research rapport, issued by Rachel Rybarczyk, Drew Armstrong & Amanda Fabio, the numbers will shine a totally different light on the energy consumption issue, when comparing BTC with banks and gold.
So how much energy does the Bitcoin network consume?
According to the researchers, Bitcoin consumes roughly 113,9 TWh/yr.
And how much energy do banking and gold industries consume?
The total energy footprint of the traditional banking system is measured at 263.72 TWh/yr or 2,3 times the energy Bitcoin uses. The total energy footprint of the gold industry is measured at 240.61 TWh/yr or 2.0 times the energy Bitcoin uses.
That's 300% more than Bitcoin, whilst only serving half the world's people. In other words: to serve the whole world, banks and gold would consume 600% of the energy required for Bitcoin to do the job properly.
I hope people will make some memes about this energy dilemma, showcasing the truth instead of the FUD.
