Issue #517: Bitcoin energy consumption estimates

Here's something that was dropped on the world a little over an hour ago. A Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index provided by Michel Rauchs and the team at The Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance. The project aims to bring some clarity to the often polarizing conversation around Bitcoin mining energy consumption. As you freaks know, it is a topic that Uncle Marty is very passionate about as he believes that Bitcoin provides a great incentive to become as energy efficient of a society as we can possibly be.

The team at Cambridge has stepped up to provide a quality estimate of Bitcoin's overall energy consumption using certain assumptions to calculate the lower and upper bounds. Assumptions pertaining to the use of the most efficient (lower bound) and inefficient (upper bound) miners on the market coupled with an assumed average energy cost of $0.05 kWh (kilowatt hour). Another thing that's great about this site is the comparisons page, which allows one to compare Bitcoin energy consumption to other energy consuming products like idle electronics here in the US.

At the end of the day, energy markets are free markets that allow anyone to purchase an energy source and consume it on what they see fit. In the winters here in the States people go crazy for the consumerist holiday that is the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ by plugging in lights that consume much more energy than the entire Bitcoin network. Hating on Bitcoin's energy consumption seems pretty idiotic when you put that into perspective. Why should we allow the continuation of conspicuous consumption of expensive, dirty energy for lights that act as a measure of how much one loves Jesus more than their neighbors while not allowing people to buy and consume energy to secure the Bitcoin network? A network that, if successful, will help bring us away from a culture of conspicuous consumption and towards a more energy efficient, long-term thinking society. Seems like we should be encouraging more Bitcoin mining.

Final thought...

Doctors appointments mess up the flow of this rag every once in a while.