Too Long; Didn't Read
Global energy required for mining Bitcoin is between 67 and 121 terawatt-hours a year. Around half of what all data centers - which help power the internet, cloud computing, and the other 4,500+ cryptocurrencies (plus the entire financial sector) - consume. One of the reasons for the high energy cost of Bitcoin and friends is not due to the blockchain at all. 80% of the hash rate - the combined computing power for mining and processing Bitcoins - is provided in Asian countries. El Salvador recently announced that the country had mined 0.00599179 bitcoin using power harnessed from a volcano.