Iceland may use more electricity mining bitcoin than powering homes this year
Bitcoin mining is booming in Iceland, and energy providers are worried they won’t be able to power new mining companies
By Rosie Perper
Iceland may soon use more electricity to mine bitcoin than it uses to power every home, according to an Icelandic energy expert.
The energy used by Iceland’s bitcoin mining market is experiencing “exponential growth,” and data centers may use more energy than all of the country’s homes in 2018, Johann Snorri Sigurbergsson from Icelandic energy company HS Orka told the BBC.
Sigurbergsson also said HR Orka “won’t have enough energy” to power numerous new data centers that have been proposed.
Bitcoin mining occurs when computers verify existing bitcoin transactions by solving complex mathematical problems, and then receive bitcoin as a reward.
Sigurbergsson told the BBC he estimates Iceland’s bitcoin mining tools currently use around 840 gigawatt hours of electricity to power computers and cooling systems each year, while most of the country’s homes use around 700 gigawatt hours.