US pet insurance policies in force

Between 2017 and 2022, Bitcoin mining electricity consumption and US pet insurance policies grew together at a 0.97 rate, which is either a coincidence or evidence that America's pets are deeply concerned about digital asset security. Bitcoin's estimated annual energy draw went from nearly nothing to over 100 TWh. Pet insurance policies grew from under 2 million to over 4 million. Both are expensive. Both are defended with surprising passion by their adherents.

Both Bitcoin mining and pet insurance are products of the same period of abundant low-interest capital, speculative enthusiasm, and risk-management awareness that characterized the late 2010s and early pandemic years. Bitcoin mining electricity consumption grew as price appreciation attracted industrial-scale miners, particularly 2020-2021. Pet insurance penetration grew as veterinary costs rose, financial planning culture expanded, and insurtech platforms made policies easier to obtain. With only six data points, two upward-trending series will almost automatically produce a high correlation — any departure from monotone growth would be surprising.

Six data points and two growing things is a recipe for a high correlation coefficient and zero insight. The smaller the dataset, the more the number flatters coincidence.