Re:Bitcoin's electricity use 8 times higher than Google's an...
by tromp on Sunday January 02, 2022 @04:29PM
(#29774140)
> A single transaction requires an average of 1,173 kWh, enough to power a typical UK home for more than three months
This is somewhat misleading, as the vast majority of that energy expense
is competing for newly minted coins, i.e. the block subsidy. It will take a few more decades for transaction fees to overtake the exponentially decreasing block subsidy and become the dominant part of the block reward. At that point it becomes more accurate to attribute Bitcoin's energy costs to the processing of transactions.
Also note that if Bitcoin were actually used as a currency (like in early Silk Road days) rather than a speculation vehicle as it mostly is now, then its price would remain orders of magnitude lower, and few people would be complaining about its energy costs.
This is somewhat misleading, as the vast majority of that energy expense is competing for newly minted coins, i.e. the block subsidy. It will take a few more decades for transaction fees to overtake the exponentially decreasing block subsidy and become the dominant part of the block reward. At that point it becomes more accurate to attribute Bitcoin's energy costs to the processing of transactions.
Also note that if Bitcoin were actually used as a currency (like in early Silk Road days) rather than a speculation vehicle as it mostly is now, then its price would remain orders of magnitude lower, and few people would be complaining about its energy costs.