Posted 11/29/2023, 3:59:00 PM
Bitcoin's Massive Energy Use Causes Water Woes
- Every Bitcoin transaction uses enough water to fill a backyard swimming pool, about 6 million times more than a credit card transaction
- Bitcoin consumed nearly 1,600 billion liters of water in 2021, which could rise to over 2,200 billion liters in 2023
- Bitcoin relies on enormous computing power that requires massive amounts of electricity and water for cooling
- The "proof of work" process used in Bitcoin mining requires competing computers guessing solutions, wasting huge energy
- Alternatives like "proof of stake" used by Ethereum cut energy use by over 99%, but transitioning Bitcoin may be challenging