56% of bitcoin mining uses sustainable energy

56% of bitcoin (BTC) miners use sustainable energy. This is evidenced by a survey conducted by the Bitcoin Mining Council. 32% of the Bitcoin hash rate worldwide participated in this survey on a voluntary basis.

The result of the research was published on July 1, 2021. The study highlights that “Bitcoin mining uses a negligible amount of energy, is rapidly becoming more efficient, and is powered by a higher combination of sustainable energy than any major country or industry.”

In addition, the report notes that survey participants (among which are companies such as BitFury, BitFarms, BitRiver, Hive, Marathon, Hut8, Riot, SBI Crypto, among others) are currently using a 67% electricity from a sustainable energy mix.

“Based on these data it is estimated that the sustainable electricity mix of the mining industry has grown by approximately 56%, during the second quarter of 2021, making it one of the most sustainable industries globally,” the document reiterated. This percentage places it above the European Union, an area with the highest use of renewable energies in the world (with 49.5% of energy mix).

This percentage increase is striking, especially if you remember that in mid-June last, businessman Elon Musk said that his electric car companies, Tesla, would again accept bitcoin as a means of payment when 50% of the energy for mining was renewable.

The energy produced in the world is wasted

The research also compared the use of energy to maintain the security of the Bitcoin network with global energy consumption. With 189 TW / h, compared to the 162,194 TW / h of world consumption, bitcoin mining barely accounts for 0.117% of the total energy consumed in the world.

Apart from these 162,194 TW/h consumed annually, of the global production, 50,000 TW / h are wasted and left without consumption. Of this huge amount of energy lost, Bitcoin consumes 0.4%. It is estimated that, because miners ‘ incentives drive them to look for the cheapest energy to cut costs, Bitcoin mining increasingly takes advantage of the global energy surplus and feeds on more renewable energy sources.

Michael Saylor: Demystifying the bitcoin mining industry

This data is the first release of the quarterly survey by the Mining Council, which was founded in May 2021 with the support of some of the largest Bitcoin mining companies in the Bitcoin industry, along with MicroStrategy and its director, Michael Saylor.

In this regard, the MicroStrategy executive considers the Mining Council as an important step in bringing more transparency and understanding to the Bitcoin mining industry. He noted that the presentation of Bitcoin mining data by industry participants will help play an important role in demystifying the Bitcoin mining industry.

I am pleased to see that the Bitcoin mining industry has come together, voluntarily, to provide critical information for the general public and policymakers, especially as it relates to clarifying common mistakes about the nature and scale of Bitcoin’s energy use.

Michael Saylor, CEO of MicroStrategy.

The entrepreneur added: “This survey, the first quarterly of many we expect to come, is based on data from miners around the world. As I said before, sjust because the Bitcoin network is decentralized doesn’t mean it has to be disorganized.”

Exodus of miners out of China is healthy for Bitcoin

For his part, Darin Feinstein, founder of Blockcap and Core Scientific, noted that the survey comes at a crucial time, as the Bitcoin industry becomes geographically decentralized as a result of miners leaving China. With China being one of the main places where bitcoin was mined with coal, the percentage of renewable energy use in bitcoin is likely to increase in the coming months.

Feinstein noted:”Even though China shut down more than 60 percent of Bitcoin’s global network, the network experienced zero downtime, no bailouts, no bankruptcies, and has simply adapted by redistributing its infrastructure into regions that have greater freedoms.”

The supposed environmental impact of bitcoin mining was analyzed in the framework of the second day of the Bitcoin Conference 2021 that took place in Miami, on June 6, as reported by CriptoNoticias.

In this event it was concluded that mining favors the development of renewable energy, according to entrepreneurs participating in this event. “We must communicate that miners are helping to develop renewable energy. Any medium is good to report this, ” said Jason Les, CEO of Riot Blockchain.