New Report Shows Why Bitcoin Will Probably Never Be A Viable Form Of Currency

A new study has shown that every single Bitcoin transaction, even buying a Flat White, consumes at least $100 of electricity.

The study was done by MoneySuperMarket and calculated the kWh transaction cost for various cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin, Ethereum Cash, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoins, Ethereum 2.0, Litecoin, Ethereum Cash, Litecoins, Ethereum 2.0, Dogecoin, and XRP.

For those who believe Bitcoin will be useful as a future transaction tool, the most alarming aspect of the study was this: Even small transactions like purchasing a chocolate bar or paying for lunch at the cafe require substantial amounts of electricity.

According to the report, each Bitcoin transaction consumes 1,173-kilowatt hour of electricity. This means that the average UK home could be powered for three months with an energy cost of approximately PS125 ($173) based on a fixed price of PS0.11 ($0.148/kWh), according to the study’s authors.

The authors also note that the U.S. equivalent would be approximately 6 weeks of electricity based upon an average household electricity consumption of 877 kWh per monthly (U.S Energy Information Administration).

Based on the 12 months of Bitcoin transactions, we calculate that the total energy consumption to be approximately 123 Terawatt hours (TWh), or 123 Billion kWh. This is equivalent to Norway’s annual energy consumption.

It is clear that Bitcoin will be used in the future as a store-of-value and an inflation hedge (much like gold), but not as a daily transaction tool.

While it is certainly a worthy competitor to the Grand Daddy in crypto markets, faster and more energy-efficient coins such as Ripple and Cardano (or if Elon Musk or Mark Cuban have their way, Dogecoin) and new coins that can even outperform the aforementioned sustainable currencies at their own game are likely to be used for transaction/currency purposes.