The Real World Costs of Bitcoin

 This is from April but at last week’s NACIS conference I saw Zach Levitt speak about making these graphics for the New York Times. The story details how in the midst of a winter storm that left tens or thousands without power, bitcoin mines in the state kept running, until the companies were finally paid handsomely to shut down operations. One company was paid $18 million over four days for not operating, at the expense of the state’s taxpayers.

Here is a map showing the largest power users in Texas.

Bitcoin mines can use as much power as small cities do, with computers continuously refreshing their algorithms. China drove out bitcoin mines a few years ago because of their power usage but they have found a welcome home in many U.S. States.

Here is a map showing the number of households that use equivalent power to the nearby mines. 

In Texas local energy bills have gone up significantly.

Bitcoin defenders tout the jobs they are bringing to rural areas but while Ethereum, another cryptocurrency reduced their electricity use by 99 percent, Bitcoin has refused to change their algorithm. The heavy power usage is keeping us reliant on fossil fuels, greatly hindering our abilities to reach our climate and pollution goals. The whole story can be seen here.