Bitcoin mining energy report
Bitcoin mining is now 46% more efficient and 6% more sustainable than last year
The latest Bitcoin Mining Council report debunks many myths about Bitcoin
The latest Bitcoin Mining Council quarterly report is out, and the results point to a promising future.
Data indicates that Bitcoin miners keep making progress in terms of sustainability, efficiency, and growth.
For this report, the Bitcoin Mining Council collected data through a voluntary survey from over 50% of Bitcoin miners worldwide, representing 107.7 exahashes (EH) as of June 30, 2022.
Let’s look at the numbers in depth.
Bitcoin mining total energy consumption
The first aspect the report addresses is Bitcoin’s total energy usage. This has been a hot topic brought up by the mainstream media, often accusing Bitcoin of setting up the next energy crisis.
The report refutes these accusations, showing that Bitcoin mining consumes ~253 TWh (estimated), barely 0.15% of the world’s total energy production.
These results dispel the concerns about Bitcoin being a threat to the global energy grid, as it demonstrates that its proof-of-work mechanisms use less than half the energy gold mining requires.
Bitcoin mining carbon emissions
Environmental impact is another focus point for Bitcoin’s most obstinate critics. However, their arguments couldn’t be further from the truth.
The Bitcoin Mining Council report estimates that Bitcoin’s carbon emissions are ~0.03 BMt. These are insignificant levels compared to the world’s total ~34.8 BMt (calculated by extrapolating U.S. carbon emissions generated by electrical generation).
In short, Bitcoin accounts for ~0.086% of global carbon emissions.
The minuscule environmental impact is a consequence of Bitcoin’s energy sources. According to the report, ~59.5% of Bitcoin’s power mix is sustainable*. These levels put Bitcoin above any country in terms of sustainability.
*Note: It’s worth mentioning that the bitcoin mining council defines “sustainable electricity” as electricity generated by: hydro, wind, solar, nuclear, geothermal.
Bitcoin mining energy efficiency
Efficiency refers to total hashrate versus the amount of energy used to produce it. That said, besides being more sustainable, Bitcoin mining also became more efficient since last year.
While hashrate increased 137.2% in the last 12 months, energy consumption is only up 62.9% in the same period. In other words, Bitcoin hashrate has grown over twice as fast as its energy usage.
As a result, Bitcoin mining is now 46% more efficient than it was exactly a year ago. Furthermore, in the long term, Bitcoin’s strive for efficiency becomes even more spectacular, increasing 5,814% over the last 8 years.
This skyrocketing increase comes as a consequence of technological advancement and hardware optimization, with new mining equipment that can produce more hashrate for less power.
Closing thoughts
As its previous releases, the Bitcoin Mining Council’s findings provide more than enough reasons to be optimistic about the future of Bitcoin and mining, especially with the next halving.
Most importantly, data keeps proving that the accusations against Bitcoin are unfounded, and that it is not only sustainable, but that it’s also more so than any country in the world.
We thank and appreciate the Bitcoin Mining Council’s efforts for gathering and making this information publicly available.
