Veteran trader Peter Brandt has aimed at Bitcoin's energy consumption. In response to a tweet made by MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor, who tweeted on July 19: "Bitcoin is a digital commodity because it has no issuer and is secured by energy," the veteran trader responded that the lead cryptocurrency was "useless without an exorbitant use of energy."
He wrote: "Secured by energy only in the sense that it is useless without an exorbitant use of energy — and then without providing economic function. It is a huge myth that somehow BTC is anything but energy consumption," he added.
In a follow-up tweet, the veteran trader admitted that he owns Bitcoin and accepts most of the current bullish narrative.
As reported by U.Today, the veteran trader predicted ahead of Bitcoin's recent bearish action that Bitcoin might not hit a new all-time high until early 2024.
Bitcoin's energy consumption
Bitcoin has seen harsh criticism from climate activists and environmentalists for the amount of energy that its network needs to operate.
According to June data from the Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index, Bitcoin's estimated annualized power consumption was around 93 TWh. This figure puts the energy use of Bitcoin on par with South Africa but less than that of Argentina and Norway.
However, the energy usage of the lead crypto is still higher than that of Finland. Presently, this figure stands at 81.65 TWh.
Mining profitability declines as the price of Bitcoin falls. As a result, less productive miners are dissuaded from being online, potentially resulting in decreased power usage and hashrate. According to reports, Bitcoin's energy usage decreased by 25% over the past month as its price fell to a low of around $17,500 in the middle of June.