IMF’s Lagarde – Cryptocurrency Mining Takes Big Amount of Energy

According to IMF chief Christine Lagarde, the amount of power wasted on producing bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies soon will be equivalent to the energy uses of countries like Argentina.

At the World Economic Forum in Davos Lagarde said in an interview given to Bloomberg:

“The bitcoins mining, which is this accelerated and augmented use of computers to actually determine the value and incentive the functioning of the mechanism, is energy angry.  And we figure that in 2018, if it continues, that system will actually consume as much electricity as Argentina.”

Cryptocurrency miners used more than 37 gigawatt-hours a day, according to the Bloomberg’s data, which is the same as 30 1.2-gigawatt nuclear reactors running at full capacity.

Digiconomist’s Bitcoin Energy Consumption Index says cryptocurrency mining could power 4,124,115 US households, and the energy consumed can be compared to Iraq’s electricity consumption.

The website claims, that cryptocurrency network is fueled by coal-fired power plants in China, because of cheap energy. The result is an extreme carbon footprint for each transaction.

“In times of climate change and when we look at how much coal is being used in some Chinese provinces to actually mine bitcoin, it’s a big concern,” Lagarde said.