In that case, I feel the whole mining paradigm needs to get smarter. Otherwise we will be spending billions of megawatts between now and 2140 mining.
Other consensus algorithms exist in addition to Bitcoin's current proof of work (PoW), such as proof of stake (PoS), which among other things, could reduce the network power consumption. That said, it's all a matter of perspective. Even with the current level of Bitcoin hash power, the network still consumes less power than the banks of the world:
Source: https://phys.org/news/2018-08-energy-bitcoin.html#jCpElectricity is 90 percent of the cost to mine bitcoin. As such, bitcoin mining uses ... somewhere between an estimated 30 terrawatt hours alone in 2017 alone.
Indeed, this is a lot, but not exorbitant. Banking consumes an estimated 100 terrawatts of power annually. If bitcoin technology were to mature by more than 100 times its current market size, it would still equal only 2 percent of all energy consumption.
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum:
Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.