Bitcoin mining could take up 0.5pc of global energy consumption in 2018

A study has found that by the end of this year, bitcoin mining could be using as much as half a per cent of the world’s global energy usage, making it a significant threat to renewable energy efforts and potentially making it an inefficient investment.

Bitcoin mining, which has received increased interest from both the public and investors over the past few years, is currently estimated to use at least 2.55 gigawatts of electricity which is already almost as high as the energy consumption of Ireland.

However, the study found that this figure could potentially triple to 7.67 gigawatts as early as the end of 2018, which puts the consumption to roughly the same amount of energy the entire country of Austria consumes.

Alex de Vries, the author of the study and blockchain specialist at PwC , concluded: “The bitcoin development community is…