Banking system consumes two times more energy than Bitcoin
According to Galaxy’s estimates, the annual energy usage of Bitcoin stands at 114 TWh, while the banking industry consumes over 260 TWh each year.
Compiled by Galaxy’s mining arm, the study estimates Bitcoin’s annual electricity consumption to stand at 113.89 terawatts per hour, including energy for miner demand, miner power consumption, pool power consumption and node power consumption. This amount is at least two times lower than the total energy consumed by the banking system as well as the gold industry on an annual basis, according to Galaxy’s estimations.
Galaxy Digital’s analysis on Bitcoin’s energy consumption comes amid a major crypto market crash that follows Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s decision to stop accepting BTC as payment for car purchases due to environmental concerns.
Musk’s move spurred wide-scale criticism from the crypto community, with some stating that SpaceX would have to switch its rockets to “more sustainable energy”.
