In the last 12 months there has been a lot of talking about the amount of electricity that is used for Bitcoin mining. It has been compared with US households, whole countries and more. But what if we take a closer look at the **annual costs** of for instance **banking or gold mining**? # Bitcoin Energy Consumption # Let’s start with Bitcoin’s energy consumption: ![Bitcoin energy consumption25june.png](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmNb4uiNLiwEVc1FftFRMHp91v9K7eWFxTkyMSKrwDTYzj/Bitcoin%20energy%20consumption25june.png) The estimated energy consumption is currently 71 TWh, around the same amount as Chile. Some key network characteristics: ![Bitcoin key network 25 june.png](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmTbi8TPivEnvxBSVye3jMSfCVvQQEhtqiRoSQKNxhcR8V/Bitcoin%20key%20network%2025%20june.png) # Annual Costs of Other Industries # Now let’s look at the **annual economic costs** of some other industries related to Bitcoin. ![annual economic costs 25 june.png](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQma9h7szEUDxuWfbZQv9842QC27F7MDVU5R16Tbk2114Zh/annual%20economic%20costs%2025%20june.png) Quite a bit more expensive than Bitcoin don’t you think? And what about the estimated **annual environmental costs**? ![annual environmental costs 25 june.png](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmTDV8ER9NNLoBTjGfzighKvS5uGj47mjNiWT249XEu64f/annual%20environmental%20costs%2025%20june.png) Doesn’t really look good for banking or gold mining does it? And maybe even more important, what about the **annual socioeconomic costs** including deaths, corruption, theft etc.? ![annual socioeconomic costs 25 june.png](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmWveSH9U5gQEQFLDPfH1eHQqxcJE1kkgxgMKhgFySnswE/annual%20socioeconomic%20costs%2025%20june.png) So, you just saw it yourself. Even though these numbers are from 2014 (at this moment Bitcoin costs around **$3.55 billion** instead of the **$0.79 billion** in the image), you get the point. **Relatively speaking** Bitcoin mining is not that big of a problem...and a lot of improvements are coming that will dramatically reduce the energy consumption (a.k.a. Lightning Network). I don’t see the banking industry or gold mining becoming much cheaper in the near future. Whenever somebody brings up the topic of Bitcoin’s energy consumption again, feel free to **refer them to this article** ;-) *Cheers!* --- ---> 👍🏼 **Follow me** for regular **updates on my cryptocurrency portfolio**, **crypto related articles** and inspiring articles about **personal time & life management**. ---> 👍🏼 **Resteems** and **upvotes** are appreciated ;-) --- *Disclaimer: I am not a financial advisor, trader or developer. I am just a blockchain & cryptocurrencies enthusiast. Make sure you do your own research, draw your own conclusions and do not invest any money that you cannot afford to lose.*