4 ms·

While I can't comment on the exact stats they are pulling up but I don't understand your logic here. Transaction is not "valid" until it is part of a block. So,

While I can't comment on the exact stats they are pulling up but I don't understand your logic here. Transaction is not "valid" until it is part of a block. So, validation is not separate from block generation, it's a part of it. A good read on this topic: https://bitcoin.stackexchange.com/questions/49531/concept-of-validating-transactions https://bitcoin.stackexchange.com/questions/49531/concept-of...

blunte 9y ago
Correct, validation is certainly part of block generation. But the act of validating a transaction is a minimal effort compared to the (many times of) hashing that goes on as part of the proof of work. My point is that for all practical purposes, the transaction validation is so insignificant that it makes little sense to try attribute the energy cost of making one block to the transactions within that block. Stuffing more transactions into a block doesn't change the fact that a new block will be created about every 10min, and that the energy cost of writing that block will be about the same. Seeing this cost from a per-transaction perspective is questionable. The reason this whole process is so expensive is because of the design goal of relative immutability and the proof-of-work scheme that aids in this reaching this goal.
- thisisit 9y ago
  A transaction needs to be part of a block to be valid. So using transaction validation is a red herring. The validation uses same amount of energy it is required to be included in the block. But, I see your point. So let's see how this thing will unfold if we talk about blocks (assuming all data is correct): From the article: > This averages out to a shocking 215 kilowatt-hours (KWh) of juice used by miners for each Bitcoin transaction So, as per the article a house needs 215kwh per week. Data Source for the article here: https://digiconomist.net/bitcoin-energy-consumption https://digiconomist.net/bitcoin-energy-consumption Energy consumption for yesterday shows as 24.25 Twh. Block is generated every 10 mins so 144 blocks in a day. 24.25/144 = 0.17 Twh ~ 168 MWh or 168000 kwh for each block. When divided with per house per week from article - 168000/215 ~ 781 houses So the apt headline, as per you is - "One Bitcoin Block Now Uses as Much Energy as more than 750 Houses in a Week" I am sure people will love to talk about consumption per transaction if that was the headline.

blunte 9y ago

Correct, validation is certainly part of block generation. But the act of validating a transaction is a minimal effort compared to the (many times of) hashing that goes on as part of the proof of work. My point is that for all practical purposes, the transaction validation is so insignificant that it makes little sense to try attribute the energy cost of making one block to the transactions within that block. Stuffing more transactions into a block doesn't change the fact that a new block will be created about every 10min, and that the energy cost of writing that block will be about the same. Seeing this cost from a per-transaction perspective is questionable. The reason this whole process is so expensive is because of the design goal of relative immutability and the proof-of-work scheme that aids in this reaching this goal.

thisisit 9y ago
A transaction needs to be part of a block to be valid. So using transaction validation is a red herring. The validation uses same amount of energy it is required to be included in the block. But, I see your point. So let's see how this thing will unfold if we talk about blocks (assuming all data is correct): From the article: > This averages out to a shocking 215 kilowatt-hours (KWh) of juice used by miners for each Bitcoin transaction So, as per the article a house needs 215kwh per week. Data Source for the article here: https://digiconomist.net/bitcoin-energy-consumption https://digiconomist.net/bitcoin-energy-consumption Energy consumption for yesterday shows as 24.25 Twh. Block is generated every 10 mins so 144 blocks in a day. 24.25/144 = 0.17 Twh ~ 168 MWh or 168000 kwh for each block. When divided with per house per week from article - 168000/215 ~ 781 houses So the apt headline, as per you is - "One Bitcoin Block Now Uses as Much Energy as more than 750 Houses in a Week" I am sure people will love to talk about consumption per transaction if that was the headline.