CryptoPotato
CryptoPotato
  • Crypto News
  • Margin Trading
  • Guides
    • Bitcoin & Crypto Guides 101
    • Bitcoin For Beginners
    • Editorials
  • DeFi & NFT
  • Buy
  • Language
    • Spanish
    • Turkish
    • German
    • Bulgarian
  • Crypto News
  • Bitcoin For Beginners
  • Cryptocurrency Guides 101
  • Editorials
  • Bitcoin & Crypto Margin Trading
  • DeFi & NFT News
  • Bitcoin Price Analysis
  • Ethereum (ETH) Price Analysis
  • Ripple (XRP) Price Analysis
  • Market Updates
  • Interviews
  • Buy Bitcoin with Card
  • CryptoPotato Spanish
  • CryptoPotato Turkey
  • CryptoPotato Germany
  • CryptoPotato Bulgaria
  • Market Updates
  • BTC Analysis
  • ETH Analysis
  • XRP Analysis
  • Interviews
CryptoPotato
CryptoPotato
  • Crypto News
  • Margin Trading
  • Guides
    • Bitcoin & Crypto Guides 101
    • Bitcoin For Beginners
    • Editorials
  • DeFi & NFT
  • Buy
  • Language
    • Spanish
    • Turkish
    • German
    • Bulgarian
  • Crypto News
  • Bitcoin For Beginners
  • Cryptocurrency Guides 101
  • Editorials
  • Bitcoin & Crypto Margin Trading
  • DeFi & NFT News
  • Bitcoin Price Analysis
  • Ethereum (ETH) Price Analysis
  • Ripple (XRP) Price Analysis
  • Market Updates
  • Interviews
  • Buy Bitcoin with Card
  • CryptoPotato Spanish
  • CryptoPotato Turkey
  • CryptoPotato Germany
  • CryptoPotato Bulgaria
Home » Crypto News » Report: Transaction of One Bitcoin Consumes More Electricity Than A British Household In 2 Months

Report: Transaction of One Bitcoin Consumes More Electricity Than A British Household In 2 Months

Author: Jordan Lyanchev

Last Updated Jan 27, 2024 @ 14:34
Getting your audio player ready...

A recent report indicated that one transaction involving the largest cryptocurrency uses the same amount of electricity as a British household for nearly two months.

98% Of Mining Rigs Never Achieve

Essentially, Bitcoin mining is the process of creating new coins and confirming initiated transactions. It’s executed by “miners,” who are solving complicated equations. On average, every 10 minutes, a new block is added to the giant distributed public ledger of already existing transactions, and miners receive the reward (fee) for their job.

According to the report, provided by the multinational professional service network of companies, PWC, there are roughly four million computer rigs worldwide used by Bitcoin miners.

However, Alex de Vries, a blockchain specialist at PWC, claimed that 98% of them would never achieve their mission. He also noted that those computer rigs have a relatively short period of existence and they cannot be reused after that:

“The shocking thing is the average lifetime of a Bitcoin mining machine is one and a half years because we have a new generation of machines which are better at doing these calculations.” According to De Vries.

“That means it’s impossible for 98 percent of the devices during their lifetime to make the calculation that actually results in a reward. So the rest are just running pointlessly for a few years, using up energy, and producing heat, and then they will just get trashed because they can’t be repurposed. It’s insane.”

Bitcoin, or Massive Electricity Usage

As a result, PWC specialists have concluded that each Bitcoin transaction uses around 657.39 kWh of electricity. To put things into perspective, this is the equivalent of 59 days of power for an average British household.

De Vries also informed about the carbon footprint left after a single transaction. It’s the same as watching over 52,000 hours of YouTube or making over 780,000 Visa transactions.

The numbers are even more impressive when examined annually. Bitcoin’s highest yearly electricity usage is 77.78 terawatt hours, according to the report. This equals to the entire electrical consumption of Chile.

Somewhat expectedly, the highest number of Bitcoin transactions was during the 2017/2018 parabolic price increase. After the severe decline, which brought the price down to $3,120 (Bitstamp, December 2018), consumption also crashed, but it’s soaring lately again, the report indicated.

Renewable Energy

PWC’s paper mentioned that there’s one legitimate solution to the issue. Bitcoin mining should be operated using renewable energy.

The industry might already be one step ahead, according to a 2019 extensive report on the matter compiled by the popular cryptocurrency research firm, CoinShares. It stated that 74.1% of all Bitcoin mining companies are already utilizing renewable energy.

In fact, the document concluded that Bitcoin mining is “more renewables-driven than almost every other large-scale industry in the world.”

This article was first published on: Mar 7, 2020

SPECIAL OFFER (Sponsored)
Binance Free $600 (CryptoPotato Exclusive): Use this link to register a new account and receive $600 exclusive welcome offer on Binance (full details).

LIMITED OFFER for CryptoPotato readers at Bybit: Use this link to register and open a $500 FREE position on any coin!

Tags: Bitcoin Bitcoin Adoption Mining United Kingdom
Enjoy reading? Share with your friends
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Telegram

About The Author

Jordan Lyanchev
More posts by this author

Jordan got into crypto in 2016 by trading and investing. He began writing about blockchain technology in 2017 and now serves as CryptoPotato's Assistant Editor-in-Chief. He has managed numerous crypto-related projects and is passionate about all things blockchain. Contact Jordan: LinkedIn

Join Our Community

FacebookX YouTubeTelegram


Editorials
How to Trade on Hyperliquid: The Ultimate Guide (Step-by-Step Walkthrough)

How to Trade on Hyperliquid: The Ultimate Guide (Step-by-Step Walkthrough)

11 Best Meme Coins to Watch in June 2025

11 Best Meme Coins to Watch in June 2025

7 Best Meme Coin Presales to Watch in June 2025

7 Best Meme Coin Presales to Watch in June 2025

Toobit Review 2025: Is Toobit a Safe Crypto Exchange?

Toobit Review 2025: Is Toobit a Safe Crypto Exchange?

Hyperliquid Bridge: How to Bridge USDC to Hyperliquid

Hyperliquid Bridge: How to Bridge USDC to Hyperliquid

11 Best Crypto Presales to Consider in June 2025

11 Best Crypto Presales to Consider in June 2025

Need for Speed – Only Ultra-Fast Blockchains Will Win the Adoption Race (Opinion)

Need for Speed – Only Ultra-Fast Blockchains Will Win the Adoption Race (Opinion)

Join Our Newsletter
Become a CryptoPotato VIP
One Weekly Email Can Change Your Crypto Life.
Sign-up FREE to receive our extended weekly market update and coin analysis report
We NEVER send spam. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Invalid email address
Thanks for subscribing!
Footer Logo
About
Advertise on CryptoPotato
About Us | Contact Us | Careers
Editorial Policy
Terms of service | Privacy Policy | GDPR
More Sections
IEO List | Evaluations
Airdrops
Scholarship
Disclaimer
Disclaimer: Information found on CryptoPotato is those of writers quoted. It does not represent the opinions of CryptoPotato on whether to buy, sell, or hold any investments. You are advised to conduct your own research before making any investment decisions. Use provided information at your own risk. Full disclaimer
© Copyright CryptoPotato 2016 - 2025
Scroll to top
One Daily Email Can Change Your Crypto Life.

Sign-up FREE to receive our extended daily market update and coin analysis report

We never send SPAM. You can unsubscribe at any moment
Invalid email address
Thanks for subscribing!