You know that the cryptocurrency craze has gone nuts when Bitcoin becomes the number one consumer of a nation's energy supply.
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With a surge in global fascination over cryptocurrencies, it is no wonder that a compendium of the world's population is investing its time in capitalizing upon Bitcoin. There are people, however, that are more dedicated to cryptocurrency mining than others–the 340,000 inhabitants of Iceland. In fact, so involved are the Icelanders in the realm of Bitcoin that not only do they rack up an enormous energy bill, but also the amount of energy spent on Bitcoin mining this year will outdo the nation's energy expenditure for powering homes.
The amount of energy spent on Bitcoin mining this year will outdo the nation's energy expenditure for powering homes.
Johann Snorri Sigurbergsson, business development manager at the energy company Hitaveita Sudurnesja, says that the amount of electricity needed this year to power Bitcoin mining will shoot up to 100 megawatts. To give you a clear picture of that statistic, that's more energy used on Bitcoin than energy used by all households combined in Iceland, according to Iceland's National Energy Authority. Sigurbergsson also expressed to the BBC News that with so many people in Iceland participating in the cryptocurrency game, "If all these projects are realised, we won't have enough energy for it."
So just how does virtual currency mining result in massive energy expenditure? Bitcoin mining involves a network of computers continuously solving intricate mathematical algorithms, which are involved in the cryptocurrency transaction process. The iterative routine of computers having to figure out complex mathematical equations requires a significant power source. Multiply this process by millions, and now you can easily see just how much of an energy consuming process Bitcoin mining is.
The iterative routine of computers having to figure out complex mathematical equations requires a significant power source.
According to Sigurbergsson, Iceland can expect about 840 gigawatt hours of electricity in order to power the massive energy consumption by its data centers, as well as electricity needed for computer cooling systems. Sigurbergsson also added that households, on the other hand, typically use around 700 gigawatts an hour. With cryptocurrency mining evolving into an ever more lucrative trade, and with an ever increasing number of firms wanting to establish data centers in Iceland, Sigurbergsson is correct in stating that there just simply may not be enough power in the nation to supply large-scale Bitcoin mining.
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