Too bad this estimate wasn't very good.
Worse, they are not comparing it to anything comparable.
Why not compare it to CERN. Which is just wasting energy. The theories have already been disproven... unless they are trying to do something else like punching holes in the universe. Uses much more energy.
Why not compare it to the SWIFT system? The banking system currently uses much more energy.
Why not compare it to cars sitting in gridlock traffic? Wasting much more energy.
Further, bitcoin miners are located in areas with very cheap electricity. Mostly this is due to their being a natural energy generator there. Like hydorelectric or geothermal.
Well you're right about the banking system, seems it's about 5x more energy use. His comparison is off indeed :/
How much money is bitcoin handeling. Large ammounts, but not near to global levels. Is it used in day to day transfers? No.
Is it already using a lot of power? yes.
Will the trend of power usage rising continue? yes.
It doesn't take a statistician to realize its not sustainable.