Bitcoin isn’t just famous for its price swings—it’s also infamous for its massive energy consumption.
The cryptocurrency relies on a process called Bitcoin mining, which uses powerful computers to secure and verify transactions on the blockchain. This requires enormous amounts of electricity.
How much energy are we talking about?

According to the Bitcoin Energy Consumption Index (BECI), every single Bitcoin transaction uses around 275 kWh of electricity. That’s enough to power an average U.S. household for nine days.
Overall, Bitcoin’s annual electricity consumption is estimated at 29 TWh, or 0.13% of the world’s total energy use. To put it into perspective:
- Bitcoin uses more energy than 159 individual countries.
- If Bitcoin were a nation, it would rank 61st in global energy consumption.
- In Africa, only Algeria, Egypt, and South Africa consume more energy than Bitcoin.
- In Europe, Bitcoin’s usage exceeds that of countries like Ireland, Slovakia, and Hungary.
The U.S. comparison
Although the U.S. is the world’s top electricity consumer, Bitcoin still uses 0.74% of America’s total power. Yet, its annual mining demand surpasses the energy needs of several U.S. states, including Alaska, Hawaii, Vermont, and New Mexico.
Is it profitable?

Mining Bitcoin is costly. Globally, it’s estimated at $1.5 billion annually (assuming cheap electricity like in some parts of China). At U.S. average prices, it would cost over $3 billion. But with annual mining revenues around $7.2 billion, the business still attracts miners worldwide.
The bigger concern
Energy consumption for Bitcoin is still growing fast. In just one month, it rose by nearly 30%. If this trend continued unchecked, Bitcoin mining could theoretically consume the entire U.S. electricity supply by 2019 and the world’s total energy production by 2020.
The question remains: can cryptocurrency scale sustainably, or will it drain the world’s energy resources?