Bitcoin’s Energy Consumption Has Nosedived Since China’s Mining Crackdown
Bitcoin’s energy consumption has halved since China’s crackdown on crypto mining, according to Cambridge University’s Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index .
Currently, Bitcoin consumes 68 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity per year. TWh is a measurement that tracks a unit of energy equal to outputting one trillion watts for one hour—and it's used to track the annual energy consumption of entire countries.
Earlier this year —before China's crackdown on Bitcoin mining really began to bite—Bitcoin was consuming up to 130 TWh, placing it comfortably among some of the world’s leading countries by energy consumption.
Specifically, the Bitcoin network’s energy consumption has fallen by 51% since May 10, from an all-time high of 141 TWh to 68 TWh.
“It's also telling that we have seen an increase in Chinese-linked mining entities selling Bitcoin since this began, almost certainly due to the costs of relocation,” Jason Deane, Bitcoin analyst at Quantum Economics, told Decrypt .
