Is Bitcoin Mining the Most Sustainable Industry?
Bitcoin mining has gained a bad reputation for being poorly sustainable in comparison to other industries. However, recent data from the Bitcoin Mining Council's (BMC) data shows that the opposite is true. In fact, Bitcoin mining is the most sustainable industry on the planet.
The BMC is a voluntary organization that works to actively inform the public about the latest Bitcoin practices and developments. On April 25th, the BMC released information that disproved the “poor sustainability” conclusion.
According to the Council’s 2022 first quarter survey, several metrics have improved compared to the previous year.
Data collected from 50% of the Global Bitcoin Network, and miners that provide 100.9 exahash (EH) of the world’s hash power, revealed an undeniable improvement in efficiency. In comparison with the first quarter of 2021, the first quarter of 2022 operated with a 63% increase in overall mining efficiency. Where the metric was 12.6 EH per gigawatt (GW) in Q1 2021, it now rests at 20.5 EH per GW a year later.
With this increase in productivity comes an increase in revenue sustainability. According to CleanSpark’s April 2022 Bitcoin production report, Bitcoin revenue for the month not only funded expenses and operations, but also allowed for significant growth despite having to purchase and maintain 24,000 of the latest-generation Bitcoin miners.
Darin Feinstein, co-founder of Core Scientific and the Bitcoin Mining Council, said it is best to rely on the facts presented rather than perception when it comes to the mining network:
The BMC membership hashrate increased from 29 EH at its inception, to 101 EH in Q1 2022…it is important for the world to get the real facts about the amount of energy used and carbon released by the Bitcoin Network.
CleanSpark April 2022 Report
The BMC report highlights a large industry movement toward more sustainable power sources, and CleanSpark is one of many mining companies dedicated to mining with sustainable energy.
Over the course of April, the company produced 313 total Bitcoin with a daily high of 10.75. By the end of April, they had sold 285 of these at approximately $41,764 per each or a total of $11.9 million for the month.
The company currently holds 448 BTC as of April 30th and used the revenue from the sold Bitcoin for growth capital expenditures at its Norcross facility. The company reported that an additional 1,200 S19j miners are currently being installed at the location.
The company currently operates with a total hashrate of 2.4 EH/s, completely powered through sustainable energy, and expects that number to increase as miner installations continue.