Comparing Electricity Consumption Per Use of Blockchain and Generative AI

The rapid adoption of blockchain technology and generative AI contributes significantly to global electricity consumption, raising concerns about environmental sustainability. The first step in saving energy is to identify current consumption. However, since blockchain and generative AI are cloud-based services, it is difficult to understand electricity consumption outside one’s facilities. This creates a barrier for user companies and organizations seeking to increase the accuracy of calculating Scope 3 emissions. This study quantifies the electricity consumption of these technologies at a system-wide and per-use level. It compares them to traditional services such as payment networks and web search engines. Bitcoin, a Proof of Work (PoW) blockchain, consumes approximately 121 TWh, equivalent to 0.43% of global electricity consumption, and its energy demand per transaction is 720,000 times higher than that of the Visa payment system. Ethereum’s move to Proof of Stake (PoS) in 2022 reduces energy consumption by 99.988%, demonstrating the potential for efficiency gains. Generative AI models also have significant energy requirements, especially during the training and inference phases. For example, training GPT-4 required approximately 9450 MWh, and daily inference work exceeded 500 MWh. The results show that inference, driven by frequent user interaction, often exceeds the energy consumption of training. The study underscores the urgency of addressing these technologies’ environmental impact through strategies such as adopting energy-efficient consensus mechanisms and optimizing AI’s lifecycle. These findings are intended to guide organizations in refining their Scope 3 emissions calculations and adopting sustainable technology practices.