[ad_1]
A new study shows that cryptocurrencies consume more electricity per dollar than mining for most metals.
The amount of energy required to produce a $ 1 bitcoin is twice as much as what is spent digging the same value of copper, gold or platinum, according to this study. According to them, the virtual work that enables bitcoin, etherum, etc., is more similar to mining than we thought.
A $ 1 bitcoin consumes about 17 megajoules of energy to produce, compared to four, five, or seven megajoules for copper, gold, or platinum. Other cryptocurrencies have performed similarly.
Rewards can be virtual, but the energy expenditure is very real. Previous studies attempting to understand how much energy the bitcoin network (still the largest blockchain that exists) consumes, have focused on its total size. In November 2017, it was discovered that bitcoin consumes as much energy as the state of Ireland. While another study says the network emits as much carbon as a million airplane flights a year.
This new study is the first to look at energy spending in real dollars. “The comparison is made to quantify and contextualize the energy consumed by these decentralized cryptocurrencies,” the authors write, “and to encourage a debate about whether the energy they require is sustainable, or results in greater damage than current coin production.”
top channel
[ad_2]
Source link
