That's a result of the mining subsidy, that is there to provide security until transaction fees are sufficiently large to secure the network. Actual energy cons

That's a result of the mining subsidy, that is there to provide security until transaction fees are sufficiently large to secure the network. Actual energy consumption for a network of a few thousand computers to propagate and validate a transaction is minimal: https://gist.github.com/gavinandresen/5044482 https://gist.github.com/gavinandresen/5044482 Without the mining subsidy, and without an artificial 1 MB per 10 minute throughput limit creating scarcity in block space, fees would be extraordinarily low. Also, Ethereum and other blockchains are-moving/have-already-moved to Proof of Stake, which eliminates all of the additional energy consumption that comes from generating proof of work.