rewards of new units of currency, will decline given the total supply of bitcoin cannot exceed 21 million. furthermore, the costs of bitcoin mining are enormous. its current annual electricity consumption is estimated by some to be up to 52 terawatt hours, double the electricity consumption of scotland. in comparison, the global visa credit card network ’ s energy use is less than ½ of 1 % of that of bitcoin, despite processing 9000 times more transactions. carstens, a., ( 2018 ), “ money in the digital age : what role central banks? ” see https : / / www. bis. org / speeches / sp180206. htm based on the british retail consortium ’ s payment survey 2016, which surveys the costs that retailers incur for accepting payments, including bank charges, handling charges, infrastructure costs and write - offs ( losses ). link to survey : https : / / brc. org. uk / media / 179489 / payment - survey - 2016 _ final. pdf the reward for each new block halves every 210, 000 blocks ( approximately every 4 years ) and currently stands at 12. 5 bitcoin per block. this regular halving of the block reward results in an exponential slow - down in the growth rate of bitcoin supply. it is estimated that by 2040 99. 8 % of total maximum bitcoin supply will have been generated. for bitcoin energy usage, see : https : / / digiconomist. net / bitcoin - energy - consumption. for scottish energy usage, see http : / / www. gov. scot / topics / statistics / browse / business / energy / eis2018 for visa ’ s energy usage, see their corporate social responsibility report ( 2016 ). all speeches are available online at www. bankofengland. co. uk / speeches virtually non - existent units of account given that they are poor stores of value and inefficient and unreliable media of exchange, it is not surprising that there is little evidence of cryptocurrencies being used as units of account. retailers that quote in bitcoin usually update at very high frequency so as to maintain stable prices in traditional currencies such as us dollars or sterling. the bank is not aware of any business that accepts bitcoins in payments that also maintains its accounts in bitcoin. the policy response even though their prospects of replacing fiat money

and the full cooperation from each one of us to do what it takes to keep viral transmission under control, this growth target is easily attainable. with the expanding economic activity, we are also expecting the unemployment rate to fall from a record - high 17. 6 percent in april — the height of the lockdown — to 7 percent in 2021. indeed, deep into the pandemic and even during the strictest part of the lockdown, we have exhibited fortitude and resilience as individuals and as a nation. but resilience is not enough. we must collect and harness significant lessons from this experience, so when we find ourselves in a similar situation in the future, we will be more prepared and know exactly what to do. 2 / 3 bis central bankers'speeches we ought to keep in mind that famous quote : tough times don ’ t last ; tough people do. finally, as with any other significant disruption in our history, it is my fervent hope that this crisis will usher in a new economy — one that is more robust, more inclusive, more technologicallysavvy. as soon as this pandemic fades, i expect that the philippines to become nothing less than an economic champion. thank you very much and cheers to a promising and bright 2021! 3 / 3 bis central bankers'speeches