A new study by CoinShares has revealed that contrary to public opinion that Bitcoin mining significantly harms the planet, 74% of such mining activity is done with renewable energy.
The CoinShares research, which represents their third iteration or coverage of Bitcoin mining activities globally revealed that at the moment, Bitcoin mining is profitable as the network continues to grow in line with its five-year trend.
Writing on the aspect of the regional renewables penetrations based on the location of mining firms, the report stated:
“The approximate percentage of renewable power generation in the Bitcoin mining energy mix stands at 74.1%, more than four times more renewable usage than the global average energy mix.”
Interestingly, the current figure is 3.7% less than the November 2018 figure, which the report estimated to be 77.8%. The decrease in the number is a result of the emergence of new mining clusters in countries such as Iran and miners relocating from hydro-dependent jurisdictions such as Oregon in the U.S.
The only slightly negative information from the research, although not unexpected, is that a significant portion of Bitcoin mining power is still centralized.
“The previously observed trend of miners leaving China seems to have lost momentum over the last 6 months”, the research confirms and then adds that the relocation of miners now majorly involves swapping one part of South Western China for the other in lieu with the seasons.
For instance, miners will opportunistically relocate their gear between Xinjiang/Inner Mongolia in the dry season and Sichuan/Yunnan/Guizhou in the wet season.
Clearly, the latest revelation does not detract from the fact that cryptocurrency mining still consumes a lot of electricity, but reinforces the fact that the activity does not pose as much risk as many believe.
Meanwhile, in another report, we revealed that Missoula County made the use of renewable energy a compulsory requirement for miners.
