Mining a single bitcoin uses roughly the same amount of power as the average american household consumes in two years. And the bitcoin network in aggregate consumes morw power than some medium sized countries!
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There is nothing virtual about bitcoin’s energy appetite
The total network of computers plugged into the Bitcoin network consumes as much energy each day as some medium-size countries — which country depends on whose estimates you believe. And the network supporting Ethereum, the second-most valuable virtual currency, gobbles up another country’s worth of electricity each day.The energy consumption of these systems has risen as the prices of virtual currencies have skyrocketed, leading to a vigorous debate among Bitcoin and Ethereum enthusiasts about burning so much electricity.
