A report published on Forbes claimed that bitcoin dramatically increases global energy consumption and concluded that electricity remains the major limitation of the technology. This publication mirrors the stance of majority energy experts in the world.

However, new facts detailed in an article published on THE Conservation claims that the criticism of the bitcoin technology is unfair. The article authored by a researcher from the University of Pittsburgh, Dr. Katrina Kelly-Pitou argued that the conversation centered on bitcoin and energy has been oversimplified.

Kelly-Pitou, a doctor of electrical and computer engineering agrees that electricity is the bulk of the cost to mining bitcoin. However, the statistics bury the technology does not indicate if it is a major contributor to the world’s carbon consumption. As Dr, Kelly-Pitou says, the discussion should be direct at the source of the electricity that powers Bitcoin.

The Transition of Bitcoin Mining to Renewable Energy.

The increase in the acceptance of bitcoin has also raised the hashing difficulty of the token. For present miners to profit from this rigorous process, they have to access cheap energy. This has led to the explosion of bitcoin mining in countries with cheap power. A case study is the rise of bitcoin mining in Iceland. Nearly 100% of the electricity generation in this nation gotten from a renewable source. As a result, the power demand for mining bitcoin in this country is nearly irrelevant to the world’s carbon consumption.

The transition of Bitcoin Miners to the area with a renewable energy source will certainly contribute to the reduction in the demand for fossil fuel. As pointed out in the article, history has witnessed the transition of all technology from an energy-intensive beginning to more efficient status. There is an optimism that bitcoin mining will follow the same path.