Can Bitcoin mining have a net positive effect on energy, environment
Bitcoin mining criticism over ESG concerns never ceases to exist. To make matters worse, the mining industry suffered a major downturn in 2022 amid the ongoing cryptocurrency winter. After this, many major crypto miners chose to sell their BTC holdings.
However, both these factors may see a change in the scenario given the insights discussed below…
Spit facts
NEW REPORT: How Bitcoin Mining Could Transform the Energy Industry
Bitcoin miners are unique flexible energy consumers that can help solve some of our biggest energy problems.
Driven by @CowaMining
Learn more in our new report: pic.twitter.com/BKlQkrDI1J
— Arcane Research (@ArcaneResearch) 1 September 2022
On September 2, crypto research and analysis firm Arcane Research released a report estimating Bitcoin’s energy usage and its potential to transform the energy industry. The report argued that the mining industry could transform worldwide energy production for the better. Contrary to its frequent narrative as a social and environmental blight. The report added,
“Most people dismiss bitcoin mining as just another energy-intensive industry, but there’s a big difference: bitcoin miners are uniquely flexible about when and where they use energy.”
In other words, BTC can have a net positive effect on energy and the environment. But is this really true?
Looking at the facts, BTC mining energy consumption increased over the years given the high demand. HOWEVER, the industry still recorded a very small portion of the global total. Something many critics miss.
According to the graph below, BTC miners consumed electricity at a rate of around 100 TWh per year, accounting for about 0.06% of the world’s total energy needs.
Source: Arcane Research
Compared to other sources, said value represents an insignificant amount.
Look at video games and the gold mining industry for example. The former consumed around 105 TWh per year, while the latter recorded around 240 TWh – ~2.5x BTC mining consumption. In the end, the paper manufacturing business’s consumption spoke for itself.
In addition to this, BTC mining systems reduce carbon emissions as the world increasingly moves away from flexible fossil fuels to non-flexible renewables. The report opined,
“Per $1,000 investment, a Bitcoin mining system reduces emissions by 6.32 tons of CO2 equivalents per year, compared to 1.3 for wind and 0.98 for solar.”
The graph below sheds more light to support this narrative,
Source: Arcane Research
Did the miners (in exodus state or not) feel this sustainable change in mining? Well yes. This is evident from the fact that Bitcoin Mining Difficulty saw its highest jump since January recently.
According to the previous report, BTC initiated a mining difficulty adjustment at block height 751,968. Also, the mining difficulty increased significantly by 9.26% to 30.98T.
The question remains…
No doubt the aforementioned insight reflects conviction among miners, despite the bearish sentiment(s). However, miners’ profits still highlighted a worrying scenario, and the same has been the case for some time now. 
Source: Glassnode At the time of writing, total miner earnings continued to trade downhill.
