Bitcoin Mining vs. Banking: How Much Power Does Bitcoin Mining Use?
By Bitstop
Bitcoin's energy use is one of the most debated facts about it. Critics point to a network that uses as much electricity as a mid-sized country. Supporters point out that the banking system and gold mining use a lot of power too.
Both sides have a point, and the numbers are less precise than either usually admits. This guide lays out the best available estimates, where each comes from, and why comparing them is harder than it looks.
The short answer
Bitcoin mining uses about 138 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity a year, roughly 0.5% of global electricity consumption, according to the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance (April 2025). A terawatt-hour is a billion kilowatt-hours.
For comparison, the best-known estimate of the global banking system's energy use, from Galaxy Digital (May 2021), is about 264 TWh a year. By that estimate, banking used roughly twice as much electricity as Bitcoin. But banks don't publish their total energy use, so every banking figure is a model, not a measurement.
Bitcoin vs. banking, gold, and data centers
| System | Estimated electricity use (TWh/year) | Source, as of |
|---|---|---|
| Bitcoin network | 138 | Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance, April 2025 |
| Bitcoin network (at time of Galaxy report) | 114 | Galaxy Digital, May 2021 |
| Global banking system | 264 | Galaxy Digital, May 2021 |
| Gold industry | 241 | Galaxy Digital, May 2021 |
| All data centers worldwide | 415 | International Energy Agency, 2024 data |
Figures come from different years and methods. Read the table as orders of magnitude, not a precise ranking.
A few things stand out. Bitcoin's estimated use has grown since 2021, from about 114 TWh in Galaxy's report to about 138 TWh in Cambridge's 2025 study. Cambridge's own index estimated closer to 144 TWh at the time Galaxy published, which shows how much estimates can differ even for the same year (source: Decrypt, May 2021). And the world's data centers, which run everything from email to AI, use roughly three times as much electricity as Bitcoin.
Why the comparison is hard
Bitcoin is easy to estimate. Banking isn't. Bitcoin's network is public. Researchers can see its total computing power and model how efficient the mining machines are, then calculate the electricity needed. Cambridge publishes a live version of this, the Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index (CBECI), with a low, high, and best-guess estimate.
Banks report no such total. Galaxy's estimate added up modeled power use for bank data centers, branches, ATMs, and card networks, and it excluded central banks. Other analysts using different assumptions have put the banking figure well below 264 TWh.
What counts is a judgment call. Should the banking estimate include staff commuting, armored trucks, or office towers? Should Bitcoin's include the manufacturing of mining machines? Different boundaries produce very different numbers.
The systems do different jobs. Banks provide loans, deposit accounts, customer service, and payments for billions of people. Bitcoin provides a payment network and a way to hold value without an intermediary. A per-unit comparison depends on which job you think matters.
Per-transaction figures mislead. You'll often see a large "energy per Bitcoin transaction" number. Bitcoin's energy use depends on how hard miners compete, not on how many transactions fit in a block, so dividing total energy by transactions overstates the cost of any one payment.
Where Bitcoin's energy comes from
The source of the electricity matters as much as the amount. Cambridge's 2025 survey of mining firms, covering 48% of global mining activity, found:
| Energy source | Share of Bitcoin mining (2025) | Share in 2022 estimate |
|---|---|---|
| Renewables (hydro, wind, solar, other) | 42.6% | Not broken out |
| Nuclear | 9.8% | Not broken out |
| Total sustainable | 52.4% | 37.6% |
| Natural gas | 38.2% | 25.0% |
| Coal | 8.9% | 36.6% |
Source: Cambridge Digital Mining Industry Report, April 2025.
The biggest change since 2022 is the drop in coal, which largely followed China's 2021 mining ban and the shift of mining to North America. The US accounted for 75.4% of reported mining activity in the survey, and Canada for 7.1%. Cambridge estimated the network's emissions at 39.8 million metric tons of CO2 equivalent a year.
Miners also have a strong incentive to find cheap power. That often means stranded or surplus energy: hydro in the wet season, wind at night, or natural gas that would otherwise be flared at oil wells. Some grid operators pay large miners to switch off during demand peaks, which lets mining act as a flexible load.
Why Bitcoin uses energy at all
Bitcoin uses a system called proof of work. To add a block of transactions to the ledger, miners compete to solve a puzzle that can only be solved by making trillions of guesses. The winner earns newly released bitcoin plus transaction fees. A new block is added roughly every 10 minutes.
That competition is the point. Because adding blocks costs real electricity, rewriting past transactions would require an attacker to outspend the entire honest network. The energy is what makes Bitcoin's record hard to tamper with, without a bank or government keeping the books. For more on why people value that, see what gives Bitcoin value.
Buying Bitcoin without mining it
You don't have to mine Bitcoin to own some. A Bitcoin ATM lets you turn cash into Bitcoin in a wallet you control. Here's what a Bitcoin ATM is and how it works, and a step-by-step guide to using one.
At a Bitstop ATM, you can buy any amount from $10. You'll need your own wallet first; popular options include Exodus, Trust Wallet, and MetaMask (see choosing a wallet). Bitcoin typically arrives in 10 to 30 minutes. Find a Bitstop ATM near you.
Bitcoin's price can move sharply in either direction. Research before you buy, and only spend what you can afford to lose.
Sources
- Cambridge Judge Business School: Cambridge study, sustainable energy rising in Bitcoin mining: annual electricity, energy mix, emissions, and mining geography (April 2025)
- Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index (CBECI): live network electricity estimate and methodology (continuously updated)
- Decrypt: Galaxy Digital claims banks use more than double the energy of Bitcoin: Galaxy's banking, gold, and Bitcoin estimates and CBECI comparison (May 2021)
- International Energy Agency: Energy and AI: global data center electricity use (2024 data, published April 2025)
FAQ
How much electricity does Bitcoin mining use?
About 138 terawatt-hours (TWh) a year, or roughly 0.5% of global electricity consumption, according to the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance (April 2025). Cambridge's live index, the CBECI, updates the estimate daily as the network changes.
Does Bitcoin use more energy than banking?
It depends on whose banking estimate you use. A May 2021 Galaxy Digital report estimated the banking system at about 264 TWh a year, roughly twice Bitcoin's use. Banks don't report their total electricity use, so that figure is a modeled estimate, and others put it lower. A fair summary: the two are in the same order of magnitude.
How much of Bitcoin mining uses renewable energy?
Cambridge's 2025 industry survey found 52.4% of Bitcoin mining runs on sustainable energy: 42.6% renewables such as hydro and wind, plus 9.8% nuclear. Natural gas was the largest single source at 38.2%, and coal had fallen to 8.9%.
Why does Bitcoin need so much energy?
Bitcoin uses a system called proof of work. Miners spend electricity competing to add each block of transactions, and that spending is what makes the ledger expensive to attack or rewrite. The energy secures the network rather than powering individual payments.
How much energy does one Bitcoin transaction use?
Per-transaction figures are misleading. Bitcoin's energy use depends on mining competition, not on how many transactions are in a block, so adding more transactions doesn't add much energy. Dividing total energy by transactions produces a large number that doesn't reflect the cost of one more payment.
Where is most Bitcoin mining done?
In the United States. Cambridge's 2025 survey found the US accounted for 75.4% of reported mining activity, followed by Canada at 7.1%.
Bitstop provides access to digital assets. Nothing here is investment advice, a price prediction, or a guarantee of value. Energy figures are third-party estimates as of the dates noted, use differing methods, and change over time. Availability, limits, and pricing vary by state and location.