A recent study by the United Nations suggests a direct correlation between the price of bitcoin (btc) and the energy required for mining operations.
UN scientists evaluated the activities of 76 bitcoin mining nations during the period 2020-2021 and found that the global bitcoin mining network consumed 173.42 terawatt-hours of electricity. During this period, the crypto ecosystem was going through a bull run and bitcoin recovered to mark its all-time high of $69,000. The UN report highlighted:
“A 400% increase in the price of bitcoin from 2021 to 2022 triggered a 140% increase in the energy consumption of the global bitcoin mining network.”
At the time, fossil energy sources accounted for 67% of the electricity generated for bitcoin mining. However, crypto entrepreneurs have taken proactive steps to increase their dependence on green energy.
Hydropower met more than 16% of the global bitcoin mining network’s total electricity demand; nuclear, solar and wind energy sources contributed 9%, 2% and 5%, respectively.
According to the UN report, the top 10 bitcoin mining nations at the time (China, United States, Kazakhstan, Russia, Malaysia, Canada, Germany, Iran, Ireland and Singapore) were responsible for 92% to 94% of global carbon . bitcoin water and land footprint.
The global push for greener alternatives to meet network demand will also help reduce the carbon footprint of bitcoin and the crypto ecosystem.
Related: bitcoin mining is becoming more environmentally friendly
Recently, Genesis Digital Assets Limited, a mining and data center company with over 400 megawatts (MW) of power generation worldwide, opened a new data center in Sweden running 1,900 bitcoin mining machines, powered by the country’s growing surplus of renewable energy.
Christian Anders, founder of BT.CX, told Cointelegraph that bitcoin mining is not very common due to high energy prices. However, he added:
“Sweden, Finland and Norway have an energy surplus and negative prices from time to time, and mainly renewable energy in the form of hydropower in a remote location that is difficult to distribute.”
In parallel, bitcoin mining equipment manufacturers continue to offer energy-efficient hardware. At the Global Digital Mining Summit on September 22, bitcoin miners shared their plans to help decarbonize the crypto ecosystem.
Bitmain launched its efficiency-focused Antminer S21, while TerraWulf COO Nazar Khan highlighted that the role bitcoin rig manufacturers play “is to place our bitcoin mining loads in places where that is happening and how we facilitate this decarbonization process.”
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