There is no need to apologize for BTC’s energy consumption

Anthony Pompliano, a well-known promoter of BTC, which has more than a million fans on Twitter, said in an interview with CNBC that there is no need to apologize for the high electricity consumption in BTC mining, because “important things in the world” simply require energy.

Pompliano spoke with Joe Kerner on CNBC’s Squawk Box when he suggested that criticism of BTC mining in terms of energy consumption was incorrect and largely stemmed from a lack of strong arguments.

BTC, as an emerging payment ecosystem, has compared fiat currencies such as the US dollar. ,There is a linear relationship between energy consumption and the dollar system. To support more transactions, we need to consume more energy, create more data centers, more bank branches, more ATMs. The BTC blockchain does not have this linear relationship to energy consumption, because regardless of the number of transactions in one block, each block consumes the same energy. In addition, how BTC scales will be more efficient because you will be able to add more economic value to each such block. ”

Pompliano spoke on the subject on the day the study was published Trading Platforms, which claims that BTC mining consumes 8 times more energy than Google and Facebook combined at the same time. The report points out that because BTC is still a “small financial ecosystem”, it consumes an unduly large amount of energy – up to 125.04 terrawatts per hour per year, according to Cambridge University (comparable to Chile or Philippines).

On the other hand, only Christmas lights in the US consume more energy than BTC. The question therefore arises as to whether comparing such gross numbers makes any sense at all. Is BTC less important than Christmas lights? And isn’t it especially better to talk about the production of energy used than its total consumption? The energy itself is not bad at all. It is only problematic if it is produced in a way that pollutes the planet.

The topic of BTC’s energy consumption will therefore continue to be hot in the coming years. Studies New York Digital Investment Group estimates that by 2030, BTC will account for 0.9% of global carbon emissions.

If this study were right, it would not be a good advertisement for BTC. However, the assumption that this estimate will not be fulfilled plays in his favor. BTC miners are increasingly inclined to use green energy sources – not only because they are eco-friendly, but simply because it is cheaper. According to various studies, more than 50% of energy from green sources is already used in BTC mining, and this percentage is constantly growing. Just to illustrate, “the greenest country in the world” Germany uses less than 50% green energy.

If BTC miners use this green energy (electricity produced by hydro, solar or wind power plants), they will also support the business of these power plants, which can help them grow more. More such power plants will benefit the environment at the expense of non-ecological ones, and BTC can help.