Bill Maher says crypto mining uses 8% of world’s electricity — he’s wrong

In a recent viral video, HBO talk show host Bill Maher wholeheartedly broadcasted his belief that crypto mining consumes 8% of world electricity production. Unfortunately for Bill, that’s completely untrue.

In fact, the real figure is less than 1%. Estimates range from 90 to a maximum of 240 terawatt-hours (TWh) per year, with most estimates for worldwide bitcoin mining in 2023 nearer to 121 TWh. Even the US Energy Administration estimates somewhere in the region of 120 TWh.

Although significant, this figure isn’t even a single percentage point of global electricity consumption in 2023, which totaled over 27,000 TWh. Even using the highest, 240 TWh figure, crypto mining’s electricity consumption would still be below 1%.

Maher broadcast the claim across national television and internet streaming services, including in posts to his 10.8 million followers on X (formerly twitter) and 938,000 on Instagram.

Viewers dunk on the talk show host

Comments rained in — many laughing at Maher’s obvious error. “This has been debunked at length,” wrote Fil Hanson on Instagram. “This is embarrassingly wrong and reflective of your ignorance of the topic,” added Todd Leonardi. “Reiterating a talking point without any research into it,” lamented Matt Blumenberg.

Read more: Bitcoin mining is more difficult than ever

On X, Bitcoiners attempted to ratio Maher’s post with comments like “You’ve embarrassed yourself on live TV well done” and “This is embarrassing, even for you.” 

Maher’s social media accounts, which are likely controlled by an agency, have not responded to any of the criticisms. Protos reached out to Maher for comment but hadn’t received a response prior to publication time. 

A single crypto asset, bitcoin, consumes more than 90% of all electricity production across all proof-of-work blockchains. That said, even tripling or quadrupling the highest estimates of crypto’s electricity use wouldn’t get anywhere close to Maher’s claim of 8%.

Got a tip? Send us an email or ProtonMail. For more informed news, follow us on X, Instagram, Bluesky, and Google News, or subscribe to our YouTube channel.