Here are some questions and answers about bitcoin

How much energy does it consume?

Total energy consumed by the bitcoin mining process could reach 128 TWh (terawatt-hours) this year, according to the Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index (CBECI), which is compiled by the Cambridge University researchers.

That is 0.6% of the world's total electricity production, or more than the entire consumption of Norway.

The recent rise in Bitcoin's price will intensify it's use and drive it's energy consumption beyond that of all other data center combined.

Why is Bitcoin so energy intensive?

A promise of juicy reward has fuelled the rise in giant data centers dedicated to bitcoin.

With the price of bitcoin now running at more than $55 000,miners are running at full capacity.

Bitcoin struck an all-time peak at $61 742 last Saturday on feverish investor demand.

What is the environmental impact?

Bitcoin advocates say that rapid renewable energy in the power plant sector means that the currency has a moderate effect on the environment.

"If you try to see the footprint of bitcoin at any given time, you're going to get completely different numbers.

Is change possible?

Critics has become more vocal about bitcoin's rising popularity.

The second most used cryptocurrency, ethereum,is considered moving from the proof-of-work protocol to less energy intensive system that would avoid some of the energy-guzzling processes.

Proof-of-work "is so deeply ingrained in it's value, in it's culture, it would amount to a sacrilege," to abandon the protocol.

No major reform of the cryptocurrency has been adopted by it's community, despite numerous attempts.