From CNBC
Here are a few things you might not know about bitcoin, the cryptocurrency that has captivated the financial world after skyrocketing about 2,000 percent in a year to more than $19,000 per coin at one point.Read more: https://www.cnbc.com/2017/12/21/no-bitcoin-is-likely-not-going-to-consume-all-the-worlds-energy-in-2020.htmlThe computer process that generates each coin is said to be on pace to require more electricity than the United States consumes in a year. This bitcoin "mining" allegedly consumes more power than most countries use each year, and its electricity usage is roughly equivalent to Bulgaria's consumption.
But here's another thing you might want to know: All of that analysis is based on a single estimate of bitcoin's power consumption that is highly questionable, according to some long-time energy and IT researchers. Despite their skepticism, this power-consumption estimate from the website Digiconomist has quickly been accepted as gospel by many journalists, research analysts and even billionaire investors.
"Companies who make big investment decisions based on numbers that are highly uncertain are almost always going to get burned. It's just a mistake to jump to conclusions."
-Jonathan Koomey, Stanford University lecturer
It would be nice if we could figure out a way to make bitcoin more energy efficient and perhaps how to re purpose the excess heat that mining produces.
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