The Kazakhstan Mining Exodus Has Flipped Bitcoin To Clean-Energy Dominance

After Kazakhstan forced out Bitcoin mining operations, the majority of global hash rate is now produced with clean energy.

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PODCAST: Cryptocurrency and green energy – Alan Ransil, founder of Filecoin Green

This summer, Europe was ablaze. At one point in August, an area one-fifth the size of Belgium was on fire. Temperatures in London, UK, surged past 40°C (104°F) in July – the highest on record.

In July, over 2,000 people died from heat-related causes in Spain and Portugal. French newspaper Le Monde estimated that the number of deaths due to the heat in France was 11,000 this summer. Last month, it was reported that across the EU, July saw 53,000 excess deaths in July alone.

Now, we move toward winter, squarely in the crosshairs of an energy crisis, as the Russian war in Ukraine rages on. I have just arrived in London, where the National Grid chief has warned that blackouts may take place this winter between 4 PM and 7 PM on “really, really cold” days – fears not confined to London alone.

Right now, it is hard to imagine the price of fossil fuels ever falling back to “cheap” levels. But the renewable era feels further than ever – certainly too far to aid Europe, and the rest of the world – this winter. Those blackouts still loom large.

These developments have thrown climate change into the limelight more than ever – something which cryptocurrency is no stranger to. Bitcoin is subject to constant debate about its mammoth energy usage. “Bitcoin consumes more energy than (insert large country)” must be one of the most common headlines.

Meanwhile, Ethereum completed its long-awaited pivot to Proof-of-Stake, reducing the energy consumption of the network by 99.95% – and reportedly the world’s electricity consumption by 0.2%.

I hosted somebody this week on the Invezz podcast who is perhaps best placed of all to discuss the environmental concerns around crypto. That is Alan Ransil, founder of Filecoin Green.

Filecoin Green aims to measure the environmental impacts of Filecoin – one of the world’s largest cryptocurrencies. Launched in 2017, Filecoin is a decentralised storage system which offers a peer-to-peer storage network.

Filecoin Green, meanwhile, measures the environmental impacts of Filecoin and strives to drive them downward.

Alan and I chat about a variety of topics relating to energy and crypto – for Filecoin, Bitcoin, Ethereum and the industry at large. One subject I found particularly interesting was around transparency and claims being substantive.

Personally, I get quite frustrated at the constant back-and-forth around energy. Whose claims are verifiable? What is fake news? Whose figures are true? Why are those numbers different from these numbers?

These are the type of debates that Filecoin Green aims to quell. Alan and I also dive into the classic Proof of Work vs Proof of Stake debate, and the environmental concerns – as well as the path for both Bitcoin and Filecoin going forward.

All in all, it felt like a very topical conversation at what is a fragile time for the world. Cryptocurrency and environmental concerns, for better or worse, is a conversation that needs to be had.

As always, feel free to reach out with comments.

Continue the conversation on Twitter with @InvezzPortal, @DanniiAshmore , @filecoin and @filecoingreen, or visit https://filecoin.energy/ for more information.  

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Biden Administration Targets Bitcoin Mining In New Report

While the report didn’t create any new regulations, it still serves as a foreboding message to bitcoin miners.

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Bitcoin Helps Us Overcome Probability-Based Energy Systems

Variable energy productions as a result of weather are guarantees of downtime and wasted money — so why incentivize them?

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Eco-Friendly and Green Cryptocurrency: Can Crypto Go Green?

Top eco-friendly and green gryptocurrency: what is the ultimate eco cryptocurrency and can crypto ever go green?

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Bitcoin’s Energy Use is a Feature Not a Bug

Bitcoin incentivizes energy innovations whereas proof-of-stake results in exacerbated inequality since the more money you have, the more money you get.

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Buenos Aires’ “Crypto Building,” Innovation Or Marketing Ploy? Here’s The 411

The Next Pampa 2.0 will be the world’s first “Crypto Building”. In the basement, there’ll be a bitcoin mining farm that will help pay for all the upkeep a modern building needs. They also plan to show NFTs in the lobby and whatnot. Is the real state project just trying to be “the world’s first” at something? Or are the builders on to something here? The crypto building’s construction will begin in Belgrano, Buenos Aires, in Q2 2022. It will have “more than 100 apartments, with either 2, 3, or 4 bedrooms, and many of them have already been pre-sold” at around $120K for a 2-bedroom one. Does that price get you a share of a bitcoin mining operation for as long as you keep a property in the crypto building? That’s what it sounds like.  According to Interesting Engineering, the Next Pampa 2.0 “can be described as a 24-floor “smart” building with a Bitcoin mining farm in its basement, the objective of which is to generate an income for the building’s operations, allowing it to cover the cost of the edifice’s maintenance and upkeep —and savings its residents the costs of having to do so themselves.” It’s worth noting that the crypto building “will also display different pieces of NFT art as decoration in its lobby.” So, it’s not a bitcoin-only project. What About Bitcoin’s Volatility?  To address the volatility issue, the publication consults with Damian Lopo, the Next Pampa 2.0’s main project developer. He knows what to do. “To deal with this, the plan is to calculate an average price for the Bitcoin over the last 12 months and use that average price to scale the mining farm in a way that theoretically will allow the mining operation to cover 100% of the cost of the building’s expenses.” Also, David Farías, the CEO of Landium, the real estate agency behind the Next Pampa 2.0 thinks that the bitcoin mining operation will generate more than the building needs. “The surplus could then be distributed among the residents; the crypto building could end up “paying residents” for living in it. “It’s a way of giving back to our customers,” said Landium’s CEO.” BTC price chart for 06/02/2022 on Eightcap | Source: BTC/USD on TradingView.com The Crypto Building ’s Solar Panels In some aspects, Argentina is good soil for the crypto building. For example, in the capital, the government subsidizes energy, and is thus cheap. In some other aspects, the bitcoin mining strategy might prove to be erroneous. “There are currently no laws regarding crypto mining, but Damián Lopo doesn’t rule out that possibility”. Argentina recently signed a deal with the IMF in which they promised to slow down crypto adoption in the country. On the other hand, there are ESG risks. Some people think that bitcoin is not worth the effort and that participants in the network shouldn’t be allowed to use electricity. However, they ignore the subtle relationship that exists between bitcoin and green energy. They always show up hand in hand. In this case, “Damián Lopo expects Next Pampa 2.0’s expenses to be up to 50% lower — as the building will be powered by solar panels in its totality, from LED lights in common spaces to pre-heating systems to heat the water that residents will use.” Green energy will power all that plus the bitcoin mining. Great, but, what’s the fundamental difference between the crypto building and a normal building with bitcoin home miners among the tenants?   Featured Image by Nestor Barbitta on Unsplash | Charts by TradingView

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How Bitcoin Will Help Solve the Climate Crisis

The Bitcoin network is more efficient compared to our current financial system, so any concerns about its energy use are completely unfounded.

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Musk Abandons Twitter Board, Tesla Builds Partnership to Make BTC Mining Eco-Friendly

Tesla's boss Elon Musk decides not to join the board, who recently become the biggest shareholder in Twitter. Meanwhile, Tesla, Blockstream, and Jack Dorsey-owned Block have teamed up to power a bitcoin mining facility with solar energy. (Read More)

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Top 10 Cryptocurrency Trends to Watch Out for in 2022

By all indications, 2022 will be no exception from trends, as more unconsidered aspects of the rapidly-emerging industry are brought to light.

Continue reading Top 10 Cryptocurrency Trends to Watch Out for in 2022 at DailyCoin.com.

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US Bitcoin mining firm turns to harmful coal waste for cleaner energy

In a bid to make crypto mining more environmentally friendly, Stronghold Digital Mining is turning harmful waste from coal mining into clean energy to power Bitcoin miners.

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More Green Energy: Crypto Mining Saves A Hydro Power Plant In Costa Rica

Green energy powers most of Bitcoin mining and the world might as well face it. And the rest of the cryptocurrencies that use Proof-Of-Work might be right behind, because they follow the same incentives. In their quest for cheaper energy sources, they all reach the same conclusion. Humanity is wasting renewable energy all over the world. And wasted energy is the cheapest of them all.  In today’s story, a hydropower plant that had to pause operations for nine months found cryptocurrency mining and got the dream client they needed. Reuters gives us the prelude to the story: “The plant was forced to reinvent itself after 30 years because the government stopped buying electricity during the pandemic due to surplus power supply in the Central American country, where the state has a monopoly on energy distribution.” How much green energy does a country has to have to just stop buying from a clean hydro plant? Well, according to hydropower.org:  “At the end of 2016, Costa Rica reached a total installed hydropower capacity of 2.12 GW. The country dominated the headlines for the second consecutive year, achieving 100 per cent renewable electricity production for a total of 271 days.” How Did Crypto Mining Enter The Hydro Plant’s Picture? Every talking head and their grandmas spread ESG FUD through traditional media. And that spills into social media, where everybody is oh-so-sure that crypto mining is boiling the oceans. Because of that, Eduardo Kooper, the owner of the plant, doubted going the crypto mining route. However, they just had to pivot. They tried other ventures, like making frozen food, and none of them work. There was no other choice. “I was very skeptical at first, but we saw that this business consumes a lot of energy and we have a surplus.” The hydroelectric company, with its three plants valued at $13.5 million and a three Megawatt capacity, invested $500,000 to venture into hosting digital mining computers.” Why would miners move their operation to a hydro plant, though? Wouldn’t it be more comfortable doing it at home? They are heavily incentivized to look for the cheapest energy possible, that’s why. And green energy is renewable. Coal is not. The Reuters report quotes one of the hydropower plant’s satisfied customers: “Installing it in this place is much more profitable than at home,” at almost half the cost, he calculated, after connecting his computer to the network at the river-powered plant.” Business is business. BTC price chart for 01/12/2022 on OkCoin | Source: BTC/USD on TradingView.com Green Energy And Crypto Mining, A Match Made In Heaven We at NewsBTC have been telling you this. Bitcoin mining incentivizes the creation of green energy infrastructure. And it can finance green energy plants already in place. Mining provides both a buyer of first resort and a buyer of last resort. Three months ago, we wrote: “A whitepaper by the Bitcoin Clean Energy Initiative from earlier this year had explained how bitcoin mining, when using renewable energy, “is especially suited to accelerate the energy transition” towards a cleaner electricity grid.” And two months ago, in an article on how Bitcoin mining is helping the Navajo Nation in more ways than one, we told you: “As the world is trying to phase out coal-powered energy, the Navajo innovate to keep up with the times. According to Walter Hasse, Navajo Tribal Utility Authority president, “I had excess electricity that I still had to pay for and deal with. Now, I want to build renewable energy to replace my lost coal resources that are throughout the nation. I need someone to consume that renewable energy resource.” And with Bitcoin mining, they have that buyer. And now, the other PoW cryptocurrencies can follow Bitcoin’s example. In Costa Rica, the other side of the world, a power station manager reaches the same conclusion as the  Navajo Tribal Utility Authority president. Quoting Reuters again: “Kooper said international cryptocurrency miners are looking for clean, cheap energy and a stable internet connection, which Costa Rica has plenty of. However, he said Costa Rica’s government should be more aggressive about trying to attract more crypto mining business, although he gave no specifics.” The Green Energy Future We Deserve Proof-Of-Work mining is a net positive for the planet. It will lead us to the green energy future that humanity’s dreaming of. It’s the only industry that can do so. And the revolution is already well underway.  Featured Image: Screenshot from Reuters' video report | Charts by TradingView

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ESG Organizations Send Letter To Congress About PoW Mining, Bitcoin Responds

Will the ESG FUD ever stop? As a Congressional subcommittee prepares to take a good look at Proof-Of-Work mining, “more than 70” national, international, state and local organizations wrote a letter to the “Congressional leadership.” In it, they use old and unreliable data to get their point across. They completely ignore all of 2021’s research and progress on the matter, because it would invalidate their argument. The question is, will Congress buy their poorly researched, alarmist letter? The ESG FUD hit PoW mining like a ton of bricks in 2021. It might be based on a poor understanding of the subject at hand, but the public in general definitely bought it. And they quote the bogus numbers that their authorities invented left and right on social media.  Related Reading | Despite Crackdown, Bitcoin Mining Is Still Alive And Well In China Also, the whole argument completely ignores Bitcoin’s main virtue. The orange coin provides a framework and tools for the world’s transition to a disinflationary system. Paraphrasing “The Price Of Tomorrow’s” author Jeff Booth, in the inflationary system that we live in, there’s a clear incentive for consumption. If your money’s purchasing power decreases by the minute, everybody will logically buy, spend, and consume everything in sight. That is the real monster that the planet’s facing. And Bitcoin fixes it.  In any case, Bitcoin’s resident ESG FUD expert, Nic Carter, took it upon himself to reply to the ESG organizations that sent misinformation to Congress. Let’s see how each part did. The ESG Organizations Make Their Point, Nic Carter Counterpoints The ESG organizations come out swinging from the introduction on:  “We, the more than 70 climate, economic, racial justice, business and local organizations, write to you today to urge Congress to take steps to mitigate the considerable contribution portions of the cryptocurrency markets are making to climate change and the resulting greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, environmental, and climate justice impacts it will have.” And their accuracies start from the get-go, also: “In 2018, scientists writing in Nature warned that Bitcoin’s growth alone could singlehandedly push global emissions above 2 degrees Celsius within less than three decades.” Those numbers are ridiculous. The study assumes a progression relative to the number of users of the network, and that’s simply not how Bitcoin works. Even if the whole planet adopted the Bitcoin standard, the network would still produce one block every ten minutes. Energy consumption is not directly related to the number of users. What did Nic Carter respond? That the claim is “false, based on a debunked paper with a completely erroneous model of bitcoin.” 2. bitcoin's energy consumption will 'only get worse over time' most likely will trail off over time, after peaking in the next decade (see https://t.co/8x0koM6nR9 for actually rigorous projections) — nic carter (@nic__carter) January 6, 2022 Right after that, the ESG organizations even throw Ethereum under the bus: “The Digiconomist’s Ethereum Energy Consumption Index estimates that the Ethereum blockchain will consume 71 terawatt-hours this year, nearly the same as the energy consumption of Colombia.” Since the letter is about PoW mining, it makes sense. The Ethereum community seems to have completely ignored the letter, at least over at Twitter.  BTC price chart for 01/07/2021 on Bitstamp | Source: BTC/USD on TradingView.com Bitcoin Incentivizes Green Energy Infrastructure The ESG organizations continue their poorly-researched attack with: “The GHG emissions from this exorbitant and unnecessary energy consumption is staggering.” It’s not unnecessary at all. In fact, PoW mining is absolutely essential for a decentralized, permissionless system. And the energy consumption is directly proportional to the security of the network. Plus, it anchors it to the real world. Not to mention the fact that Bitcoin actually incentivizes and finances green energy infrastructure. Then, the ESG crowd accuses Bitcoin of “exacerbating” the global chip shortage: “Increased demand for these machines are exacerbating a global shortage of semiconductors. A bipartisan bill by Senators Maggie Hassan and Joni Ernst has called for a report on how cryptocurrency mining operations are impacting semiconductor supply chains.“ With ease, Nic Carter counterattacks with: “Bitcoin miners are not tier 1 clients, they don’t compete with Apple/Qualcomm/NVIDIA for space; the shortage is due to money printing and the demand shock. See section on semis here.” 5. Atlas/ greenidge increased power prices in NY. The Atlas mine brought back online a fallow coal plant (converted to natgas) which now provides energy to the grid (in addition to mining). That's energy supplied to the grid which wasn't being produced beforehand — nic carter (@nic__carter) January 6, 2022 Texas Doesn’t Know What Its Doing, The ESG Crowd Does Then, the ESG researchers make wild, unbacked assumptions about Texas power: “Following a crackdown on cryptocurrency miners in China, many miners are moving to Texas, due to its deregulated grid, taking away the power that Texans need.” This completely ignores the fact that the state of Texas went to great lengths to attract those miners. And that, unlike the ESG organizations that signed the infamous letter, power companies in Texas regularly attend Bitcoin meetings. They are making an effort to understand the technology and the opportunities it brings to them. Also, as Carter puts it, “Majority of mining is in west texas where transmission bottlenecks mean prices routinely go negative. Huge overcapacity and limited demand for power outside of mining.” Miners also participate in demand response, meaning they aren't online when the grid is overburdened. Their presence dramatically improves economics for renewables and does not compete with households during scarcity events. — nic carter (@nic__carter) January 6, 2022 The state of Texas knows what it’s doing, they see Bitcoin’s future is bright. These ESG organizations think they know better, though: “Adding more energy-guzzling crypto mining operations to Texas could exacerbate the sorts of blackouts the state already saw during the extreme cold in February — outages that reporting shows hit communities of color the hardest.” Wow, playing the race card there. So low. And unrelated. Anyway, answering the claim that miners “could exacerbate” the February blackouts, Carter says. “Miners were/ would have been offline during this time, as we demonstrate here. They also help alleviate ‘black start’ issues through primary frequency response.”  9. Stronghold mining with coal waste is bad (implied) The coal waste was going to oxidize naturally. It was going to combust anyway. This is an incentive to clean up a nasty site leeching into groundwater etc. Neutral from a CO2 perspective and ++ from an ecology view — nic carter (@nic__carter) January 6, 2022 Three Other Prominent Bitcoiners’ Response Are these direct responses to the ESG organizations’ letter? It’s not clear, but the authors published them in the same timeframe. The first one refers to SHA256, the set of cryptographic hash functions that Bitcoin uses. Nunchuk founder Hugo Nguyen said, “Once you understand that SHA256 is close to being 100% efficient at what it does, you’d stop calling it a “waste”. In fact, 100% efficiency is the exact opposite of “waste”. There’s nothing else like it.” Once you understand that SHA256 is close to being 100% efficient at what it does, you’d stop calling it a “waste”. In fact, 100% efficiency is the exact opposite of “waste”. There’s nothing else like it. https://t.co/SLuVrAPfU2 — Hugo Nguyen (@hugohanoi) January 7, 2022 For his part, Swan Bitcoin’s Brandon Quittem attacks the concept of energy consumption being inherently bad. “Energy consumption is directly correlated with GDP. Want to help developing countries? Help them harness more energy. Interestingly, Bitcoin acts as a free market subsidy for energy investment.” 3/ Energy consumption is directly correlated with GDP. Want to help developing countries? Help them harness more energy. Interestingly, Bitcoin acts as a free market subsidy for energy investment. Incentivizes developing otherwise uneconomical energy sources. pic.twitter.com/DJ6yYoz6WO — Brandon Quittem (@Bquittem) January 6, 2022 And Kraken’s Dan Held states that “Bitcoin’s energy consumption is not “wasteful.” Why? Because “It is much more efficient than existing financial systems.” And we’re talking orders of magnitude, here. Not only that, “No one has the moral authority to tell you what is a good or bad use of energy (ex: watching the Kardashians).” 1/ Bitcoin’s energy consumption is not “wasteful.” – It is much more efficient than existing financial systems– No one has the moral authority to tell you what is a good or bad use of energy (ex: watching the Kardashians) Let's debunk this FUD?? — Dan Held (@danheld) January 6, 2022 Do you know how much energy American households use for their Christmas lights? As much as the whole Bitcoin network, that’s how much.  Related Reading | Is This The Reason China Banned Bitcoin Mining? Carvalho’s Mind Blowing Theory Where is the letter to Congress protesting  Christmas lights, ESG organizations? Featured Image by Karsten Würth on Unsplash | Charts by TradingView

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Bitcoin Is Not Dirty: It Is Radically Green

A common misconception, bitcoin is not a drain on the environment but an incentive for ever-increasing energy efficiency.

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New Wave of Green Energy Programs Influence Crypto Mining Sector

The mass exodus of crypto mining operations out of China based on intensified crackdowns has triggered the urge for sustainable and environmentally friendly mining activities. (Read More)

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Discussing The Bitcoin Energy Revolution

A group of Bitcoin experts come together to explore the energy revolution that is being ushered in by the Bitcoin standard.

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Since China’s Mining Ban, Bitcoin Hashrate Has Recovered by 68% And Counting

Bitcoin is a perpetual motion machine. The Bitcoin hashrate is slowly climbing to pre-China-ban levels, and the service continued uninterrupted without a hiccup. Such is the power of well-placed incentives. Pantera Capital’s CEO Dan Morehead adds one more factor to the equation. “The bitcoin network has recovered 68% of the drop in hashrate that our difficulty model attributed to China’s ban—likely in places with cleaner energy.” The recovery is happening exactly as forecast. The #bitcoin network has recovered 68% of the drop in hashrate that our difficulty model attributed to China's ban—likely in places with cleaner energy. The transition to renewables is underway. Sep Letter: https://t.co/xLyaLpPQQN pic.twitter.com/UsK9ML3BU8 — Dan Morehead (@dan_pantera) September 9, 2021 In the company’s newsletter, Pantera fleshes out the argument: “Although difficult to know with certainty, it seems very likely that much of the reboot in mining power is occurring in places with cleaner energy than those utilized by Chinese miners.  The transition to renewables is well underway.” Regarding The Bitcoin Hashrate, Are ESG Concerns Even Important? Here at NewsBTC we’ve determined that China’s Bitcoin mining tended to go to provinces with abundant green energy. Bitcoin incentivizes that. The Bitcoin hashrate tends to go where the energy is cheap. We’ve also determined that the environment doesn’t seem to be the reason for China’s Bitcoin mining ban. “The fact that the electricity for crypto mining in Sichuan came from clean hydropower meant that many thought the province would be a safe haven for Bitcoin miners. As pressure on local governments to cut carbon emissions mounts, projects were successfully shuttered in some other provincial-level regions — such as Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia — where the mining was chiefly fueled by coal.”  The only thing we can know for sure about the Chinese government’s plan is this: the environment is not on their radar. They’re closing these mining operations for other reasons altogether.  It’s also important to remember that China’s Bitcoin hashrate dominance was already on decline before the mining ban.  “According to Arcane Research, CBECI numbers say that: China’s share of total Bitcoin mining power has declined from 75.5% in September 2019 to 46% in April 2021?—?before the restrictions on Chinese miners were even imposed. That figure is much lower than the older estimate of 65%. That’s a sharp decline. Why did China’s miners lose so much ground before the ban?” None of this invalidates Pantera Capital’s original thesis, though. “The transition to renewables is well underway,” that certainly seems to be the case. And the Bitcoin hashrate keeps climbing.  BTC price chart for 09/09/2021 on Timex | Source: BTC/USD on TradingView.com Do Bitcoin Halvins Imply Cuts In Energy Consumption? Another interesting idea present in the mentioned newsletter is this one: “Bitcoin has a built-in mechanism to reduce energy consumption over time.  The number of bitcoin issued in the every-ten-minutes block reward is cut in half every four years.  Ceteris paribus, the amount of electricity Bitcoin consumes will be cut by 50% every four years.  For comparison, the Paris Accord only requires 7% cuts every four years.” Of course, when related to fiat currencies, Bitcoin’s price fluctuates. So, the value of every Bitcoin stays the same, but the price might – and usually does – increase more than twofold. Even though the miner’s rewards are cut in half, their earnings might increase. That extra money could bring even more competition and a Bitcoin hashrate increase with it.  Taking that into account, Pantera poses: “Perhaps a more realistic scenario is if the price of bitcoin were to double every four years in parallel with the halvings – putting bitcoin at $320,000 /BTC in 2032 – electricity consumption would be no greater than it is today.” Enough About The Bitcoin Hashrate, What About The Price? Another point that the newsletter makes is this one.“This is China’s third ban of Bitcoin.  The reverse hex is still working – the price is up 57%.” Related Reading | New To Bitcoin? Learn To Trade Crypto With The NewsBTC Trading Course Is this a bullish signal? Bitcoin’s price has “only” increased by 57% since the Chinese mining ban sent the Bitcoin hashrate in death spiral for a few seconds. Bitcoin paid the price and resisted sabotage like a hero. We’re not sure if a “reverse hex” could be considered reliable information, but… maybe this IS a bullish signal? Featured Image by Diana Polekhina on Unsplash - Charts by TradingView and Pantera Capital

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Blockstream Partners With Macquarie To Explore Renewable Bitcoin Mining Solutions

Blockstream and Macquarie collaborate to explore carbon-neutral alternatives for their joint investment in bitcoin mining.

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Bitdeer Partners With Druk Holding & Investments For Bitcoin Mining Operation In Kingdom Of Bhutan

The mining operations will be “carbon-free” according to the firms and the first expansion by Bitdeer into Asia.

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Bitcoin Is Becoming Greener At An Unexpected Pace, Good For BTC Price?

Bitcoin, the world’s most valuable cryptocurrency, is going green, and the pace at which the network has reduced its carbon emissions in the past three years has been noted by climate activists. Nonetheless, how this could impact BTC prices and attract technology firms like Tesla, the electric automobile manufacturer, is yet to be seen. Carbon Emission Associated With Bitcoin Miners Rapidly Falling As of late May, on-chain data from Woonomic shared by Daniel Batten, a climate technology investor, and activist, noted that the amount of Carbon emission associated with Bitcoin mining has fallen by nearly 50% from 601g/kWh to 299g/kWh in three short years. It should be observed that the Bitcoin hash rate and prices have been rising steadily during this time. In the last quarter of 2021, the Bitcoin price soared to as high as $69,000 before collapsing to below $16,000 in November 2022. Although prices have since recovered, soaring to as high as $31,000 in April 2023, the hash rate has been steadily rising over the years.  In proof-of-work networks like Bitcoin and Litecoin, the hash rate relays the computing power dedicated to the network in real time. It is a variable that makes the network secure and robust against third-party attacks, and can also be used to gauge the pace at which the Bitcoin platform consumes energy. Related Reading: Ripple CTO Schwartz Reveals Insights Into AMM Trading Strategy Miners channel computing power as “hash rate” to secure the Bitcoin network. They need this to verify transactions in exchange for network rewards. The more the hash rate, the higher the chance of earning a block and, thus, the 6.25 BTC every 10 minutes.  However, the tough competition for the block rewards has been partly blamed for environmental degradation and carbon emissions from miners. To stay competitive, Bitcoin miners have to operate gear that is energy-intensive. Critics have always maintained that electricity powering them is from coal and other non-renewable sources. As of June 2, the Bitcoin Energy Consumption Index shows that 105.23 TWh powers Bitcoin. It is the same amount of electricity consumed by Kazakhstan. The resulting Carbon emission, they add, stands at 58.69 Mt CO2, comparable to that emitted by Libya. However, data from the Bitcoin Mining Counsel, a group comprised of some of the largest BTC miners in the world, provides more insight into the cryptocurrency’s energy consumption after conducting a study on its members: (…) the members of the BMC (Bitcoin Mining Council) and participants in the survey are currently utilizing electricity with a 63.8% sustainable power mix. Based on this data, the global bitcoin mining industry’s sustainable electricity mix has improved marginally to 58.9% and remains one of the most sustainable industries globally. Will Green Mining Support BTC Prices? In that sense, Woonomic data coincides that emissions have fallen drastically over the last three years. It has nearly halved to 299g/kWh, suggesting miners switched to greener energy sources to power their rigs. Related Reading: Bloomberg’s Senior Macro Strategist Predicts More Pain Ahead For Bitcoin Technology companies would likely consider adopting BTC as payment as carbon emissions fall. Earlier, Tesla reneged on their decision to accept BTC for payment, citing the impact of Bitcoin mining on the environment. With Carbon emissions decreasing, this could positively impact BTC as major entities worldwide will embrace the coin and network. Feature Image From Canva, Chart From TradingView

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