Inefficiency

[gwikley]

Someone tell me I have this wrong. Please. My understanding is that for every BTC transaction a MASSIVE amount of electrical energy must be used. That true? Second question: If, as I understand it, the ENTIRE blockchain must be retained as it is added to. That means that systems are holding onto this massive amount of digital information, consuming incredible amounts of space. WHY? Is it not possible to off load a substancial portion of the blockchain, store it for easy reference and then move on with the newer blocks. Like set a time limit for holding previous blocks. OR do I have this totally wrong. The time it takes to complete and verify a single transaction is dependent on the volume at the time of the inception. The speed would increase were there not such a massive load of collateral data that had also be processed. Thanks in advance.