100 million bitcoin fivefold in value after they were stolen
18.05.2022
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Many people have opened their eyes to cryptocurrency in recent years, but it is not…
Bitcoin mining requires a lot of power
The cryptocurrency bitcoin is becoming increasingly popular around the world, and interest completely waned when it was recently announced that the top manager of Tesla, Elon Musk, has bought bitcoin for 1.5 billion dollars , which is equivalent to over 13 billion Norwegian kroner at today’s exchange rate .
In fact, the place value of bitcoin by ten percent as soon as the news became known, and it has risen further since then to ever new records. The fact that there is constant hectic activity in bitcoin trading around large parts of the world also has ripple effects. Other cryptocurrencies are also noticing an ever-increasing demand.
Such computer parks are typically located in old industrial halls or new buildings in areas with affordable electricity, such as on the volcanic island of Iceland which has geothermal energy. There have also been extensive plans for such computer parks in Great Britain , without this materializing.
Extremely demanding
The virtual currency is produced in huge computer parks . This requires a lot of electricity, in fact so much that the extraction of bitcoin alone now uses more electricity than the whole of Great Britain combined.
The reason why so much power is used is that the large computer parks with enormous computing power work in high gear to verify all the transactions that take place at any given time across the blockchain.
Uses more electricity than the whole of Great Britain in one year
Researchers at the University of Cambridge have calculated that on an annual basis, more than 124 terawatt hours (TWh) are spent on bitcoin extraction alone. This is more than the total electricity consumption in Great Britain in a whole year. BBC has also made a calculation that shows the power used on bitcoin could keep all the boilers across the UK warm for almost 30 years. It also does not help that this is only for bitcoin, because all the other cryptocurrencies have come in addition.
Therefore, cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin also have many opponents, who believe this is a waste of power. However, supporters of bitcoin believe that bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are more energy efficient than the regular banking and financial system.
Several data centers on the stairs in Great Britain
Here at home, Statnett has already received several requests for data centers which, if all the projects are realized, may require a power consumption of as much as 60 terawatt hours (TWh). Now, probably not all the projects will be realized, but some of the data centers that focus on cryptocurrencies will probably become something of.
Despite much opposition from cryptocurrency skeptics, Great Britain ‘s Bitcoin and Blockchain Association believes that so-called cryptocurrency mining is a solid opportunity for the entire power industry in Great Britain .
They believe everything is in place for cryotomining in Great Britain . Much because we have low energy prices for renewable energy. The association also believes that the cold climate we have here in Great Britain makes expensive refrigeration systems in the data centers not necessary. They also point out that Great Britain has a stable political climate, good internet connections and generally good infrastructure.
Bitcoin accounts for 80% of the recovery of cryptocurrency
Bitcoin is by far the largest cryptocurrency on the market, and it is estimated that the virtual currency alone accounts for around 80% of the power consumption that goes to the recovery. The second largest cryptocurrency, Ethereum accounts for around 13%, while Litecoin accounts for around 2% of total consumption. The rest is distributed between lesser-known cryptocurrencies such as Monero, Dash, Doge Coin and Zcash.
We are convinced that the cryptocurrency has come to stay, and that the value of bitcoin will continue to increase in the time to come. We are also sure that more data centers will emerge that focus on the recovery of cryptocurrencies here at home. In the same way that new Norwegian casinos are constantly appearing online .
