Study finds about one-third of electricity used to mine cryptocurrencies goes to altcoins

Bitcoin mining accounts for about 66% of the total energy consumption used for mining the 20 largest cryptocurrencies. The figures come from a study by the Technical University of Munich, published in Joule.

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The study examined the 20 largest Proof-of-Work cryptocurrencies by market capitalization.

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“Based on the data from the algorithms, current hash-rate figures and mining devices, we conclude that Bitcoin accounts for two-thirds of total energy consumption, while the altcoins presented account for one-third,” the report said.

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Ethereum accounts for 11.46% of total energy consumption, with Bitcoin Cash (BCH) in third place at 2.44%. The smallest share among the coins studied is Bytecoin at 0.01%. Bitcoin and Ethereum together account for 79.85%.

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A central focus of the study was the environmental impact of mining. The authors note that the problem of high energy consumption is often discussed only in relation to Bitcoin, not taking into account the significant share of altcoins.

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“Electricity consumption is not a problem in the context of climate change. But increasing the total hours of load on electricity sources could lead to seeking alternatives and changing the intensity of local emissions.”

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According to the Energy Consumption Index from the Digiconomist service, Bitcoin’s energy consumption currently stands at about 63.5 TWh/year. Based on the study’s data, the total for the 20 largest cryptocurrencies approaches 100 TWh/year.

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After Bitcoin’s halving on May 11, network energy consumption fell by 24%, from 77.78 TWh/year to 57.9 TWh/year.

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