As is traditional, let's start with an explanation. The topic of Bitcoin's impact on the environment was raised in the spring of 2021. That's when the Chinese authorities started banning crypto mining in different regions of the country, which later turned into a widespread ban on coin mining. As a result, the BTC network's hash rate - that is, the total amount of computing power in the blockchain - collapsed to a local low of 69 hashes per second, which was recorded on June 28, 2021.

In the end, however, the figure has not only recovered to its former heights, but also set new records. Specifically, on Sunday, February 12, 2022 the hash rate reached 263 hashes.


Bitcoin network hash rate graph for the last month

During the same period, Elon Musk joined Bitcoin’s critics. First, his company Tesla stopped accepting BTC as a means of payment, and then Musk started manipulating the market with his negative remarks about the first cryptocurrency. In the end, it came down to occasional praise for Dogecoin, which has a special relationship with Musk.

Now Gelsinger has joined the list of dislikers of the first cryptocurrency. We describe his position below.

What Bitcoin is being scolded for

Here’s one of Gelsinger’s quotes, published by the news outlet Decrypt. In it, a company spokesperson voiced his own attitude towards the digital asset.

One transaction in the Bitcoin blockchain consumes so much energy that it could power your house for almost a day. This is a climate crisis.

Note that people outside of the cryptocurrency industry do have a hard time understanding the need for the large amounts of electricity required to power blockchains. However, it does make sense. In particular, digital assets give users the right to fully own and dispose of their money as they see fit. And there is no need for central authority approvals or other formalities. In addition, the ability to send value anywhere in the world comes with a price tag of its own.

Patrick Gelsinger, CEO of Intel

According to Cambridge University, the Bitcoin network currently consumes about 125 terawatt hours of electricity per year. This is more than most countries in the world, including Norway, the United Arab Emirates and Sweden.

Bitcoin’s rising energy consumption

That said, the transaction itself on the Bitcoin network does consume a lot of energy. All because of the huge number of miners who are busy adding new blocks to the blockchain and thus guaranteeing the cryptocurrency’s security. Here’s a comparison of energy consumption for various tasks, as shared by Solana in November 2021. As you can see, transactions on cryptocurrency networks without the Proof-of-Work consensus algorithm are much more energy-efficient.

Energy costs for different actions

It is important to note that many companies - especially in North America - are actively switching, or have already switched, to renewable energy sources. This means that their activities do not harm the environment. And this is good for both Bitcoin's "purity" and its reputation in the current environment.

During the interview, the Intel CEO also took the opportunity to promote his company’s new mining chip, which Gelsinger says will help “solve the problem for the environment”.

Intel’s promises are very optimistic: Earlier, Raja Koduri, vice president of the company, claimed that the new chip “will be a thousand times more powerful” compared to today’s video cards in terms of power consumption per 1 watt. More information about the chip is promised to be disclosed at the International State Circuits Conference (ISCC), which will take place next week.

Contrary to criticism, cryptocurrencies remain very popular – and especially on Telegram. The cost per thousand impressions of posts advertising crypto in the messenger’s Russian-language channels ranked first, with the average rate reaching the 6,700-ruble mark. Next are trading and investments, which are also not very far from the topic of digital assets. Here is the corresponding table from Cointelegraph.

Popularity of Telegram advertising categories


We believe that as Bitcoin becomes more popular, such statements will become less and less relevant. For starters, people will start to understand the potential of cryptocurrencies and the benefits they offer in the form of decentralisation and new financial opportunities. In addition, miners will continue to switch to renewable energy sources, which will make the BTC mining industry more nature-friendly.