Mounting Academic Research Interests In Bitcoin Energy Consumption
The launch of a Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index (CBECI) by University of Cambridge is just the latest in a series of research projects focused on determining the true costs and externalities of the market-leading cryptocurrency.
Tuesday marked the release of The University of Cambridge’s Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index (CBECI), an online tool providing real-time monitoring of the Bitcoin network’s electricity consumption. This comes several weeks after Coinshxtares released a widely-shared study detailing the origins of the electricity that powers the Bitcoin network. While some, including myself, have criticized the methodology of the Coinshares research, both of these developments represent the fact the Bitcoin industry has matured towards acknowledging the need to better understand the network’s true costs and externalities.
When Digiconomist released their initial Bitcoin Energy Consumption Index in 2017, Bitcoin advocates were quick to belittle the fact that one transaction on the Bitcoin network consumes as much electricity as several US homes do in a single day. Many argued that existing banking systems and data centers do not share any of their electricity usage with the public; therefore, the fact that Bitcoin’s electricity demand can be tracked publicly in the first place represents an unprecedented level of transparency.
The fact The University of Cambridge, one of the world’s most renowned universities, has decided to enter the discussion with the release of their own Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index should bring a heightened level of awareness to this issue throughout the rest of academia. While many universities and research laboratories have put resources into developing their own blockchain protocols, the amount of comprehensive research into the existing market leader’s real-world costs and externalities remains sparse.
With Bitcoin having been around for more than a decade, hopefully, this is the first of many academic and research institutions joining this important discussion so that consumers and regulators are not simply receiving their analysis from companies with vested interests in Bitcoin — and perhaps the network can move towards a greener future.
