Study finds Bitcoin network uses less energy than the banking sector

Annual electricity consumption by Bitcoin miners stands at 113.89 TWh, while gold production reaches 240.61 TWh and the banking sector about 263.72 TWh. The figures come from a Galaxy Digital report.

The authors note that substantial energy use is often not discussed in the context of individual industries. Many companies do not disclose their carbon footprint, whereas the Bitcoin network is transparent on this measure.

“It cannot be denied that the Bitcoin blockchain consumes a significant amount of energy. This is what makes the network so reliable and secure,” the report says.

To derive the gold mining figure, Galaxy Digital analysts estimated greenhouse gas emissions across all stages of the production cycle, including refining and processing.

Estimating energy use in the banking sector proved even more complex — calculations included branches, ATMs and data centres, including payment cards. The final figure was 2.3 times higher than that of the Bitcoin network.

Since June 1, fully neutralizes the carbon footprint of Bitcoin mining by purchasing CO2 emission quotas. The firm urged other industry participants to join the initiative.

Galaxy Digital Mining — On Bitcoin Energy Consumption by ForkLog on Scribd

Subscribe to ForkLog news on VK!