According to the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), electricity consumption by miners in the United States has reached a significant figure – 50 billion kWh per year.
As part of a study on the impact of cryptocurrencies on the climate, OSTP analyzed the use of blockchain and digital currencies, as well as the amount of energy consumed by miners and their share from renewable sources. It turned out that American miners consume 38% of the total global energy consumption by miners.
Analysts stressed that the industry lacks monitoring facilities and tools, so the data may not be accurate. However, they are confident that the mining of cryptocurrencies in the US consumes more energy than powering home computers, and less than lighting and cooling households.
“It’s hard to make direct comparisons. However, the total energy consumption of MasterCard, Visa and American Express payment systems was less than 1% of the consumption of bitcoin and ether miners in the same year. At the same time, payment systems process much more transactions, and the companies themselves spend energy on corporate activities, ”the report says.
OSTP proposes to transfer mining operations to renewable energy sources – this will reduce the impact of cryptocurrencies on the climate. Analysts emphasized that this requires the interaction of the state, the cryptocurrency community and companies to develop modern and effective standards.
Recall that the study of the impact of cryptocurrency mining on the climate in the United States was launched in March of this year.
Source: Bits
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