The Dark Side of Bitcoin: Highlights Through December 2021, BTC had a market value of over $960 billion (US$) and a global market share of nearly 41% among all crypto currencies. The energy consumption of Bitcoin mining has significantly increased from January 2016 to December 2021, with a peak usage of 75.4 TWh per year in 2020. This amount of energy is equivalent to the annual consumption of countries like Austria and Portugal.  Prior to the ban in China, hydropower was a significant source of electricity for mining. The energy usage of Bitcoin mining, which is largely powered by coal … Continue reading The Dark Side of Bitcoin: Climate Damages Shot Up 126 Times Since 2016