XRP Uses 99.999% Less Energy Than Bitcoin
Technical analyst Bullrunners published a report Tuesday showing the XRP network consumed ₱4,207,881 ($73,000) in electricity for the entire year, compared to Bitcoin's ₱576.42 billion ($10 billion) for the same period.
Key Takeaway
XRP's energy advantage is undeniable, but Bitcoin supporters say power consumption secures decentralization.
The XRP Ledger runs on 0.0079 kilowatt-hours per transaction, according to technical analyst Bullrunners in a report posted to X on Tuesday. That's 99.999% less energy than Bitcoin.
XRP's entire network consumed ₱4,207,881 ($73,000) in electricity for the year, while Bitcoin burned through ₱576.42 billion ($10 billion) during the same period. A single Bitcoin transaction uses 1,100 to 1,400 kilowatt-hours — enough to power a household for 38 to 49 days. XRP validator Vet pegged the cost per XRP transaction at $0.0000028, compared to $50 to $80 for Bitcoin.
Deutsche Bank's energy comparison report confirms the scale of the gap. Bitcoin clocked 118 kWh per transaction, Ethereum came in at 20.294 kWh, and XRP registered 0.00001133 kWh. Even Visa and Mastercard transactions used 0.00649 kWh — 573 times more than XRP. The University of Cambridge estimated Bitcoin's annual consumption at 67 terawatt-hours in 2019, comparable to Austria or Colombia's entire power usage.
Bitcoin defenders pushed back hard. One unnamed supporter argued that Bitcoin's energy consumption is not wasteful but essential to its security, describing proof-of-work as a process that converts real-world energy into unforgeable digital scarcity. Another challenged XRP's decentralization credentials, pointing out that Ripple holds billions of the token and could influence supply without the constraints of a hard cap.
XRP supporters fired back, saying the XRP Ledger's energy efficiency places it ahead of not just Bitcoin but also Ethereum — even after Ethereum's 2022 transition to proof-of-stake. XRPL developer Bird called XRP millions of times cheaper in electricity than Bitcoin transactions, representing billions in avoided power usage. The XRP Ledger's total annual consumption sits at 400,000 kilowatt-hours as of mid-February 2026, according to long-standing XRPL validator Vet.
This article was written based on reporting from Bitcoinist.
