Bitcoin rise could leave carbon footprint the size of London's

Research estimates cryptocurrency will consume as much energy as all datacentres globally

The surge in bitcoin's price since the start of 2021 could result in the cryptocurrency having a carbon footprint the same as that of London, according to research.

Alex de Vries, a Dutch economist, created the Bitcoin Energy Consumption Index, one of the first systematic attempts to estimate the energy use of the bitcoin network. By late 2017 he estimated the network used 30 terawatt hours (TWh) a year, the same as the whole of the Republic of Ireland.