
Cryptocurrencies vs Precious Metals - Energy Consumption
November 12, 2018
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We’ve been talking a lot lately about precious metals mining and the world of cryptocurrencies. The two may often seem unconnected, but today, we’re flipping the switch and examining the sectors side by side through the lens of energy consumption.
New research published in the journal Nature Sustainability this week finds that cryptocurrency “mining” is significantly more energy-intensive than the mining of physical gold, silver, and other natural resources.
Cincinnati-based researchers Max J. Krause of Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education and Thabet Tolaymat, Environmental Engineer at the EPA spent two-and-a-half years measuring energy expenditures involved in producing Bitcoin, Ehtereum, Litecoin, and Monero. Their research shows consumption reached an estimated average of 17, 7, 7 and 14 megajoules (MJ) to “mine” $1US worth of each cryptocurrency, respectively.
These numbers stand in stark contrast to levels associated with mining copper, gold, platinum, and rare earth oxides.
In the same study, the researchers found that consumption rates of these resources averaged out to about 4, 5, 7 and 9 MJ respectively to produce the same $1US worth.
Aluminum was the only resource studied that didn’t perform better than the cryptocurrencies, requiring 122 MJ of energy to produce the same $1US worth.