The environmental, social, and governance (ESG) properties of Bitcoin mining continue to get better, according to recent findings. However, that doesn’t stop mainstream media from telling people that it will destroy the planet.
According to climate technology venture capitalist David Batten, the energy efficiency of Bitcoin mining is improving.
The environmentalist recently teamed up with on-chain analyst Willy Woo to produce four dynamic Bitcoin ESG charts to support the findings.
The first one was Bitcoin mining sustainability which has been steadily improving for the past two years. Furthermore, the pair revealed that BTC mining now uses 52.6% sustainable or renewable energy.
BTC Energy Emissions Reversal
The second chart showed that since China banned Bitcoin mining, the rising emissions trend has now reversed.
“Network emissions are trending downwards, even as hashrate and electricity consumption increase. Miners switching to sustainable energy is a big driver for this.”
Furthermore, the researchers noted that emissions per dollar of market capitalization are decreasing. Unlike the current global financial system, where GDP growth is tethered to rising emissions, Bitcoin’s market cap can grow while emissions do not.
Finally, Bitcoin mining is becoming more energy efficient. The chart shows that BTC mining now produces fewer energy emissions when compared to its energy consumption.
Furthermore, China’s mining ban has done the Bitcoin mining industry a favor. There are now countries emerging as hubs for the industry that are totally renewable in terms of energy production. Two previously analyzed by BeInCrypto are Iceland and Norway.
There are also strict regulations regarding energy usage in the U.S. and Canada. This is leading to more mining companies using more sustainable energy.
According to the Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index, the amount of energy wasted and lost to transmission and distribution in the U.S. could power the BTC network 1.6 times.
The findings refute the FUD constantly spewed by mainstream media about how bad for the planet crypto mining is.
Bitcoin Mining Ecosystem Outlook
Bitcoin hash rate, or network horsepower, is currently near peak levels. According to BitInfoCharts, the hash rate is 331 exahashes per second (EH/S). Furthermore, it has increased by 23% since the beginning of this year.
Mining difficulty, which measures competition between miners, is also at an all-time high of 43T.
However, mining profitability, or hash price, is still very low at $0.067 per day per TH/s. Therefore, miners are still struggling to turn a profit at these levels, no matter what their source of energy is.
Disclaimer
BeInCrypto has reached out to company or individual involved in the story to get an official statement about the recent developments, but it has yet to hear back.