The amount of power the Bitcoin network uses is frequently brought up in discussions about the sustainability of the currency. However, the CEO of Canadian Bitcoin miner Hut 8 Jaime Leverton believes that the sheer fact that its power usage is a known element is noteworthy.
On the most recent edition of Decrypt’s gm podcast, she mentioned the method used to verify Bitcoin transactions and added, “We see our energy use, really, as a feature of proof of work.”
Energy Transparency of Bitcoin
Bitcoin mining has come under fire from critics like Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren for contributing to the global warming catastrophe. Supporters of Bitcoin, such as MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor, argue that miners provide otherwise squandered energy a new use by effectively storing it as Bitcoin.
Nevertheless, since Bitcoin’s hash rate is made public, the environmental impact of mining has been extensively studied. The metric reflects the processing power being applied across the Bitcoin network as miners compete to solve the next block by repeatedly performing intricate computations.
- The amount of power the Bitcoin network uses is frequently brought up in discussions.
- Bitcoin mining has come under fire from critics of the global warming catastrophe.
- Bitcoin Mining Council conducts quarterly surveys on the sources of the power used by miners.
Leverton asserted that having this competition take place in public fosters a level of transparency unique to Bitcoin mining that is not present in the conventional banking system.
“Since the information is publicly available, it’s simple to see how much energy Bitcoin miners use,” she said. “However, you cannot see how much energy is consumed by the hard metal mining industry or the conventional fiat banking system.”
Leverton pointed out that the Bitcoin Mining Council conducts quarterly surveys of industry participants to create reports on the sources of the power used by miners.
According to the most recent study, nearly all of the power used by BMC’s members—who make up the majority of the world’s Bitcoin mining industry—came from a sustainable power mix that drew on resources including solar, wind, and hydroelectricity.
However, Leverton asserted that whether or not one believes Bitcoin itself has any worth affects one’s assessment of its energy usage. She also stated that the value versus energy argument hasn’t historically been applied with the same rigor to other types of technology, ignoring the potential that Bitcoin has to simultaneously provide financial services to the world‘s unbanked people.
