He’s about to put a turbulent time behind him.
The pandemic has been a very good time for cryptocurrencies.
Before the pandemic, Bitcoin traded for around $7,000-8,000, before the peak price was set in April of this year at more than $63,000.
But in May, the price collapsed sharply. This summer, the price dropped below $30,000.
China has given up on all cryptocurrencies, optimism is gone.
More good news
But in recent months, the exchange rate has been mostly pointing in one direction, and especially October has been a very good month for Bitcoin. Recently it became known that The US Financial Supervisory Authority has given the green light to index funds (ETFs) linked to cryptocurrency. The decision lasted for several years, and is generally considered a huge victory for the cryptocurrency industry.
This comes after Bitcoin was officially recognized as a payment method in El Salvador earlier this year.
Approaching the oil box
On Monday morning, Bitcoin was trading above $62,500, close to April levels, but recently dropped below $61,000.
Bitcoin’s total market capitalization is now $1148 billion – or about NOK 9.7 trillion. If you add up the values of nearly 2.1 million Bitcoins that haven’t yet been released, you’ll end up with 10.8 trillion.
By comparison, the Norwegian Petroleum Fund is currently worth 11.5 trillion NOK.
Bring other cryptocurrencies with you
Bitcoin is the big cow in the cryptocurrency world, which is made up of several thousand different competitors.
Bitcoin’s biggest competitor, Ethereum, is now approaching old records, and in recent days it has been trading steadily above $3,800. It sold briefly in May for more than $4,000, while this summer it was just under $1,700.
Huge energy consumption
It is worth noting that the energy consumption of the Bitcoin network has increased significantly over the course of the year, according to the overview by Digiconomist.
Annual consumption has now exceeded 176 TWh. By comparison, Norway’s total energy production, including exports, is typically between 130 and 140 TWh.
Significant portions of electricity consumption occurs through coal power. China was the center of bitcoin mining in the world, and In the United States, coal-fired power plants have been revived to power data centers.
The energy consumption of Ethereum has also increased dramatically: according to Digiconomist it is Energy consumption now reaches 79 TWh year. This currency is largely powered by regular computers with powerful video cards, and the demand for these video cards has led to a months-long supply crisis for video cards.
Thus, the major cryptocurrency combined an energy consumption nearly twice that of Norway’s electricity production.
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