Are There Any Studies That Attempt a Comprehensive Energy Comparison of PoW and Traditional Finance?

Yes, there are studies that attempt such comparisons, but they are often controversial and come with significant caveats. These studies try to estimate the total energy consumption of the banking and financial industries, including everything from data centers to employee travel, and compare it to estimates for networks like Bitcoin.

However, the methodologies and data sources vary widely, leading to different conclusions. There is no universally accepted study due to the complexity and lack of transparent data, especially from the traditional financial sector.