How Bitcoin’s Power Consumption Is Good for the Planet

A controversial proposition that might just hold water

In early 2018, an analyst called Alex De Vries at Pricewaterhouse Coopers (PwC for short, thank goodness) produced a report titled “Bitcoin’s Growing Energy Problem” which seemed to provide a plausible calculation of the power consumption of the Bitcoin network.

It seemed viable, was generally well supported and, rightly or wrongly, went on to become the basis on which many lasting assumptions about Bitcoin’s power consumption were made.

It was timely enough that I even included a detailed reference to it in one of the chapters of the book I was writing at the time, called “How to Explain Bitcoin to Your Mum.”

The chapter was called “Why Bitcoin WON’T work,” which was a counterpoint to the preceding chapter entitled, surprisingly enough, “Why Bitcoin WILL work.”

Some, however, questioned the validity of the underlying assumptions about the type of equipment used a reference point to calculate power consumption. Others questioned whether renewable energy had been given enough consideration overall.

While both points are far from resolved, the latter was revisited by the same analyst a year later when he produced another report entitled…