Here, we’ll analyze the energy consumption rate (power = watts = [J / sec]) of the US FDIC-insured banking sector and compare it with Bitcoin.

The CBECI tool estimates that Bitcoin consumes about 15.24 gigawatts.[1]

There are approximately 2 million employees working at FDIC insured banks in the United States.[2] There are approximately 330 million people in the United States.[3] United States food production uses about 10 quadrillion BTUs per year (about 332 gigawatts = [10 quadrillion BTU / (365*24*60*60) sec to gigawatts]). 332 gigawatts / 330 million ~ 1kW. That’s approximately 1 kilowatt per person in the United States. There are probably some good arguments about exports etc but we will hold that aside for now. In 2019, total U.S. primary energy consumption per person (or per capita consumption) was about 305 million British thermal units (Btu).[5] = 305 million btu / (365*24*60*60) sec = 10kW. So, we get around 11kW per person for the total food and primary energy consumption rate.

11kW / person * 2 million people working at FDIC-insured banks = 22 gigawatts for FDIC-insured banks

So, we come to the conclusion that if you look at the people employed by FDIC insured banks in the United States alone, they have a larger impact on the environment than Bitcoin. If my calculations are correct, maybe we don’t need this complaint to be the same first post in every thread on crypto.

Maybe I’m missing something or have done an incorrect calculation, if so, please point it out.

[1] https://www.cbeci.org

[2] https://www.statista.com/statistics/193286/number-of-employees-at-fdic-insured-commercial-banks-in-the-us/

[3] https://www.census.gov/popclock/

[4] https://www.chooseenergy.com/blog/energy-101/energy-food-production/

[5] https://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.php?id=85&t=1

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