YouTube and Gold mining need twice as much energy as Bitcoin and Netflix, ETH PoS almost free

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Energy consumption data shows that blockchain technology does not use as much energy as some much less criticized technologies. Ethereum has significantly reduced the climate impact of blockchain technology with its transition to PoS.

While blockchains have a bad reputation for being power-intensive, data shows that they are not the most power-consuming technologies. YouTube and the gold mining industry used more than 2 times the energy consumed by mining Bitcoin and Netflix in 2022.

Data highlighted by the research arm of crypto exchange Crypto.com shows that the video streaming platform consumed 244 TWh/year. Similarly, gold mining consumed 240 TWh/year. This is in comparison to Bitcoin mining which used 100 TWh/year and Netflix which used 94 TWh/year.

Even more remarkable is the massive reduction in energy consumption that the Ethereum blockchain achieved in 2022. Following its migration to a proof-of-stake (PoS) blockchain, Ethereum now has an estimated energy consumption of 0.0026 TWh/year.

This represents around 1% of the 0.26 TWh/year consumed by the online payment giant PayPal. This is also a drop of more than 99% from Ethereum’s previous proof-of-work (PoW) power consumption estimate.

One of the positive effects of the #Ethereum Merge is that the energy consumption of Ethereum has dropped by 99.95%.

The energy consumption of the PoS Ethereum #blockchain is estimated to be around 1% of that of PayPal. pic.twitter.com/zt5ouw12RQ

— MoneyRadar (@MoneyRadar_FR) December 27, 2022

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Crypto.com notes in its report that the September Merge upgrade was one of the most anticipated crypto events of 2022. Financial news and analysis firm S&P Global shared a similar sentiment.

S&P pointed out in a September blog post that the upgrade that made lower power consumption possible was essential for Ethereum. Indeed, it significantly reduces the climate footprint of the entire crypto industry. The post also noted that all applications in the Ethereum ecosystem would benefit from the blockchain reputation lift.

Will criticism of Bitcoin’s energy consumption die out soon?

Meanwhile, the S&P projection for Bitcoin is not so optimistic that criticisms of its energy consumption will soon fade. The company expects criticism to increase even as investors become more concerned about sustainability.

These criticisms have already seen the Bitcoin network suffer a few setbacks over the years. In 2021, China banned Bitcoin mining, leading to a mass exodus of miners to other countries and a crash in BTC prices.

The country said at the time that the activity’s high energy consumption was preventing it from meeting its carbon emissions targets. However, Bitcoin proponents argue that Bitcoin’s high energy consumption is wanted and necessary.

One such Bitcoin supporter is Andrew Webber, co-founder and CEO of Digital Power Optimization Inc. His company works with independent power producers and other energy companies to harness excess electricity for mining. bitcoins. He told S&P that over time Bitcoin mining will use the least valuable yet sustainable energy sources in the world.

He supports the idea that due to fierce competition, Bitcoin miners will continue to seek “incredibly cheap energy.” Some of these energy sources are currently not used because they are difficult to reach and exploit for everyday use. But they won’t be for Bitcoin mining which is a portable industry.

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