Bitcoin Will Soon Use More Energy Than Austria

(Credit: yuRomanovich/Shutterstock) By now, we’re all tired of hearing about the virtual currency turned investment craze known as Bitcoin. Created in response to the 2008 financial crisis, anarcho-capitalists hailed it as the decentralized future of commerce. But as prices soared and the biggest names on Wall Street bought in, Bitcoin became mostly known as a speculative, unregulated investment. Think Beanie Babies, but you can also use them to buy drugs and engage in human trafficking. Perhaps the most remarkable Bitcoin storyline recently has been just how much computational horsepower it takes to create the virtual currency: some 26 quintillion calculations per second. That adds up to tremendous energy bills. But it’s been tough to put exact numbers on Bitcoin’s massive energy consumption. Most estimates have been “back-of-the-envelope” type calculations. A study published Wednesday in the journal Joule attempts to change that. Economist and digital currency expert Alex de Vries applied ...