US cheese imports

As Bitcoin mining has consumed more electricity worldwide, US cheese imports have grown, a correlation of 0.982 across six data points that connects cryptocurrency energy consumption to European dairy with the blockchain confidence of a chart that treats proof-of-work and proof-of-Gruyère as equivalent validation mechanisms. The hash is computed, the cheese is imported, and both require significant energy inputs—one electrical, the other agricultural.

Bitcoin mining electricity grew from about 30 TWh to over 120 TWh between 2017 and 2022. Cheese imports grew from about 400,000 to over 430,000 metric tons. Six data points, both up, driven by entirely different global markets: Bitcoin by mining economics and crypto prices, cheese by American palate diversification. The shared variable is nothing more than both trends being in their growth phase during the same six years.

Six years of Bitcoin mining and cheese imports is a correlation built on a tiny sample connecting the most energy-intensive digital asset to the most delicious analog import. The block is mined, the Brie is imported, and neither transaction validates the other. The hash rate climbs. The import tariff applies. The correlation is as mature as a six-month Cheddar.