Bitcoin water consumption is coming under scrutiny from experts
2 min readBitcoin has already been in the crossfire of criticism because mining would use too much electricity. There is now increasing discussion about Bitcoin’s water consumption.
From the point of view of BTC opponents, all attempts to frame Bitcoin as resource-consuming have not had the desired success. The cryptocurrency has neither been banned nor has its price crashed.
Bitcoin: One swimming pool per transaction
Bitcoin regularly has to justify itself on numerous aspects. Now a new one is added. If calculations by financial experts are to be believed, then BTC requires more than 16,000 liters of water per transaction. That would be enough to fill a swimming pool.
According to experts, this enormous consumption could even worsen the shortage of drinking water in affected regions. According to calculations, the high water consumption is caused by the cooling of the large mining facilities. The water evaporates and can therefore no longer be used.
Running out of drinking water?
In addition to this direct water consumption, Bitcoin also records indirect water consumption that occurs when generating electricity. Alex de Vries, from the University of Amsterdam, believes water consumption has increased dramatically in recent years. According to his calculations, the amount is a million times more than a credit card payment. He doesn’t see an end to this consumption yet and believes it will continue to rise.
De Vries assumes that the enormous quantities could affect water supplies in some dry regions. When water becomes scarce, he sees problems on the horizon. He cites the mining stronghold of Kazakhstan as an example.
Useless arithmetic operations?
The data scientist and financial expert thinks little of BTC and describes the underlying calculation operation that creates new coins as useless. He suggests increasing the use of renewable energy and recommends using innovative cooling methods. In his opinion, BTC should only be mined in those regions where it is not so hot. The use of industrial water, i.e. water that is not suitable for drinking, should also be considered.
