AI Set to Surpass Bitcoin Mining in Global Energy Consumption and Industry Impact

AI Overtakes Bitcoin Mining as the Leading Power Consumer

According to t3n, artificial intelligence (AI) is on track to surpass Bitcoin mining in terms of energy consumption. Alex de Vries-Gao, a doctoral researcher at the Institute for Environmental Research at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, has analyzed public data from AI companies and compared it with quarterly reports. His findings indicate that companies like TSMC, a major manufacturer of AI chips, are projected to consume as much electricity in 2024 as the entire Netherlands. De Vries-Gao warns that TSMC's energy demand could soon rival that of the United Kingdom. He also criticizes the lack of transparency in reporting energy consumption, stating, "You have to take an absurd number of steps just to get a number behind it." Despite these concerns, there are ways to reduce energy usage, such as optimizing code and using smaller language models.

"After years of high energy consumption in cryptocurrencies, I thought my research was over. But then came ChatGPT. And I thought, 'Oh boy, here we go again.' This is another unusually energy-intensive technology in an extremely competitive market." – Alex de Vries-Gao, t3n

TSMC's 2024 electricity consumption equals that of the Netherlands.
AI companies are increasing model sizes, driving up resource needs.
Transparency in energy reporting remains a significant issue.

Key Takeaway: AI's energy consumption is rapidly increasing, with leading chip manufacturers potentially matching the power usage of entire countries. Transparency and efficiency improvements are urgently needed. (Source: t3n)

Iris Energy: From Bitcoin Miner to AI Infrastructure Pioneer

Börse Express reports that Iris Energy is undergoing a strategic transformation from a pure Bitcoin miner to a diversified digital infrastructure provider. The company is now focusing on two growth areas: Bitcoin mining and AI cloud services. Its existing NVIDIA GPU fleet already generates significant annual revenues with high margins. A new liquid-cooled data center is being built in Texas for the next generation of Blackwell B200 chips, highlighting the company's scalability and adaptability to new hardware.

Financially, Iris Energy maintains a debt-free balance sheet, with funding coming from customer prepayments and internal cash flows. Analysts, such as J&M Securities, have upgraded the stock to "Strong Buy," citing the hybrid AI/crypto model and scalability. The company has expanded its Bitcoin mining capacity and plans to pause further mining expansion to focus resources on AI infrastructure. Low hash costs and favorable electricity prices at the Childress site support profitable margins.

Significant annual revenue from existing GPU infrastructure
Expanded Bitcoin mining capacity, with further increases planned
Strategic pause in mining expansion to prioritize AI infrastructure
Debt-free balance sheet and strong financial stability

Key Takeaway: Iris Energy's pivot towards AI infrastructure, supported by robust financials and strategic investments, is attracting positive attention from analysts and investors. (Source: Börse Express)

AI May Surpass Bitcoin in Power Consumption by 2025

According to derStandard.de, a study estimates that AI systems could require 23 gigawatts of power in 2025, potentially overtaking Bitcoin's energy consumption. The report highlights that AI's electricity demand could soon exceed that of countries like the Netherlands. The forecast, however, remains uncertain due to the lack of precise data.

Estimated AI power demand for 2025: 23 GW
AI could consume more electricity than Bitcoin and the Netherlands

Key Takeaway: AI's energy requirements are escalating rapidly, with projections suggesting it may soon outpace Bitcoin mining and even surpass the consumption of entire nations. (Source: derStandard.de)

Tether Holds Over 100,000 Bitcoin and Eyes Mining Leadership

BTC Echo reports that Tether, the company behind the USDT stablecoin, currently holds more than 100,000 BTC, valued at a minimum of $10.6 billion. CEO Paolo Ardoino announced at the Bitcoin Conference in Las Vegas that Tether achieved a profit of $13 billion last year and holds $120 billion in US Treasury bonds. Additionally, Tether possesses over 50 tons of gold, worth approximately $5 billion. Ardoino stated, "It is very realistic that Tether will be the largest Bitcoin miner in the world by the end of the year, even when including all publicly traded companies."

"We have committed to reinvesting heavily in Bitcoin. We now own more than 100,000 BTC as a company." – Paolo Ardoino, BTC Echo

Asset	Amount	Value (USD)
Bitcoin	100,000+ BTC	10.6 billion+
Gold	50+ tons	5 billion
US Treasury Bonds	-	120 billion

Key Takeaway: Tether is not only a major player in the stablecoin market but is also positioning itself to become the world's largest Bitcoin miner, with substantial holdings in both Bitcoin and gold. (Source: BTC Echo)

AI's Electricity Consumption Surpasses Bitcoin

Vietnam.vn highlights research by Alex de Vries-Gao, indicating that AI could soon consume nearly half of the global data center electricity by the end of 2025. Currently, AI accounts for up to 20% of data center power usage. De Vries-Gao's analysis, published in Joule, shows that TSMC has more than doubled its AI chip production capacity from 2023 to 2024. He estimates that AI's electricity consumption in 2024 will match that of the Netherlands, and by the end of 2025, it could reach the level of the United Kingdom, with a demand of 23 gigawatts.

The report also notes that the U.S. could see a 25% increase in electricity demand by 2030, mainly due to AI, data centers, and Bitcoin mining. The environmental impact varies significantly depending on the energy mix of the data centers. For example, AI tools processed in West Virginia can emit nearly twice as much CO2 as those in California, due to differences in renewable energy usage.

AI could use nearly 50% of global data center electricity by end of 2025
TSMC doubled AI chip production capacity from 2023 to 2024
Estimated AI power demand in 2025: 23 GW
U.S. electricity demand may rise 25% by 2030 due to AI and data centers

Key Takeaway: AI's rapid growth is driving a surge in electricity demand, with significant implications for global energy infrastructure and environmental impact. (Source: Vietnam.vn)

Bitcoin Price Forecast: Trump's Sons Predict $170,000 by 2025

Investx.fr reports that at the 2025 Bitcoin Conference in Las Vegas, Donald Trump Jr. predicted that Bitcoin could reach $150,000 to $175,000 by 2026. Eric Trump suggested that the price could "go to the moon" next year. He emphasized the growing demand for Bitcoin, noting that billions of dollars are invested daily and that even 0.1 BTC could become extremely valuable. Michael Saylor, Executive Chairman of MicroStrategy, has encouraged the Trump brothers to take bold risks, even suggesting leveraging assets like Mar-a-Lago to invest in Bitcoin.

Trump Media has launched a $2.5 billion initiative to build a Bitcoin treasury. Eric Trump also mentioned that institutions, royal families, and family offices worldwide are adopting BTC-based treasury strategies. American Bitcoin, a mining company co-founded by Eric Trump, is planning an IPO. With Bitcoin trading at around $108,456, mining costs per BTC range between $80,000 and $90,000.

Forecast	Value
Bitcoin Price (2025-2026)	$150,000 - $175,000
Current Price	$108,456
Mining Cost per BTC	$80,000 - $90,000
Trump Media Bitcoin Treasury Initiative	$2.5 billion

Eric Trump: "Everyone in the world wants Bitcoin, everybody is buying Bitcoin."
American Bitcoin plans IPO; potential gains of over 180% if BTC exceeds $100,000

Key Takeaway: The Trump family and Michael Saylor are highly optimistic about Bitcoin's future, projecting significant price increases and institutional adoption. (Source: investx.fr)

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Anonymous am 31.05.2025

Ok so i see a bunch of pepol r talking about tsms and tether an alot of a.i using as much eletricity as netherlands or sumthign, but no one menshind about the CO2 and polutin difference when ai is runnin in places with more coal energy, like that paragraff from vietnam.vn i read. Like they sed a.i. in west virginia gives waay more CO2 than california just becuase they use less solar or wind or whatever. wich is crayzee that its such a big diference with just lasaction. I dont get why more companay dont just move there datacenters to greener states or just build on site solar farms, might be xpensive tho?

And plus with al the fuss about ai gonna take over electricty grid or watever, will that men bitcoin will cost less in energy cause no1 mines anymor, or does all that just get worse for everybody? Mang, with U.S. power goin up 25%, I dont think the grid even going to handle so manny robots and cryptomines, not even mention all them AC units in texas where its hot as heck and theres new datacenters being made there too, like that iris thing. Sometimes I think if AI just stoped with them bigger models and just used smaller ones like it sed maybe it be ok, but business just wants more and more. LOL, Maybe we just go back to paper and dont use computers at all?, jk...

So anyone knows if those power numbers takes hydro or just regular old power? An why USA keep buildin datacenters where its cheap but not green? sum part just dont make sense but im not profeshional, just crazy those numbers almost like a whole COUNTRY just for talkin robots and bitcoin.

Wattson am 31.05.2025

Just wanna jump in here because I see a lot of debate about Tether and all the Bitcoin mining but nobody’s really touched much on those wild Trump Bitcoin price predictions or that whole talk about “institutional adoption.” Gotta say, it’s a bit surreal seeing Trump’s sons and Michael Saylor basically cheering each other on to throw everything and the kitchen sink into BTC, like Saylor literally suggesting mortgaging Mar-a-Lago, lol, what?!

But seriously, even with those wild price forecasts (150k-175k by 2026, really?) I always wonder if the average person should start FOMO buying just because some billionaire or political celeb tells them to. Like, the mining costs per coin are already pushing close to 90k and if big corporations and “royal families” are moving in, doesn’t that just squeeze the small guys out? All this institutional money talk, I dunno, feels weirdly similar to what happened when hedge funds took over the housing market and regular people couldn’t buy a home anymore.

Also I feel like people don’t talk enough about how these mega investors and corporations having such a huge stake adds all sorts of volatility and manipulation risk. If Trump’s media company really throws $2.5 billion at BTC, what happens if they suddenly decide to cash out? Or if Saylor changes his mind? I just don’t buy the hype that “everybody wants Bitcoin”—if that was true we wouldn’t need these wild predictions every few months.

Anyway, not trying to be negative, it just bugs me a bit that the focus is all on how high it can go, instead of whether all this hype and big-money involvement is actually good for the average person or for crypto in general. Anyone else feel like the more “mainstream” it gets, the less fair it becomes?

Anonymous am 31.05.2025

I get that Texas has cheap power and Iris Energy is debt free, but it feels risky to double down on building giant AI datacenters there when their grid already struggles with extreme heat and blackouts.

Article Summary

AI's electricity consumption is rapidly increasing and may soon surpass Bitcoin mining, with leading chip manufacturers like TSMC projected to use as much power as entire countries. Companies such as Iris Energy are shifting focus from crypto mining to AI infrastructure, while transparency in energy reporting remains a significant challenge.