techsupport In the dizzying world of digital currencies, Bitcoin has become a revolutionary phenomenon that has captured the attention of investors worldwide. At the heart of this revolutionary cryptocurrency is a process known as Bitcoin mining, which fuels its operation and has important implications for the entire blockchain ecosystem. In this article, we will delve into the world of Bitcoin mining and energy consumption statistics and why they are essential for both the growth of Bitcoin and the environment.
Whether you are an experienced investor or new to the cryptocurrency landscape, discovering the ins and outs of Bitcoin mining is imperative to understanding the true potential of this digital asset. So, let’s dive in and explore the intriguing world of Bitcoin mining, shedding light on its importance and the critical information you need to know.
Featured Bitcoin Mining Statistics
- As of May 2023, the annual global electricity consumption of Bitcoin mining was approximately 95.58 terawatt-hours.
- Bitcoin is estimated to account for 60-77% of global crypto asset electricity consumption.
- Bitcoin mining has a total market capitalization of $8.11 billion.
- The daily revenue generated by Bitcoin miners is $27.7 billion.
- The US is the largest Bitcoin mining industry globally, accounting for over 38% of the global Bitcoin network hash rate.
Bitcoin Mining Energy Consumption Statistics
The energy consumption of Bitcoin mining has become a topic of great interest and scrutiny. As the popularity and value of Bitcoin have increased, so has the energy needed to mine new coins and maintain the blockchain.
According to the New York Times, Bitcoin mining consumes approximately 0.5% of all the energy produced worldwide.
The electricity consumed annually in Washington State is equivalent to more than one-third of the electricity used annually for residential cooling in the United States.
Additionally, the electricity consumed by Bitcoin mining is more than seven times the combined energy use of Google’s operations worldwide.
In the early days of Bitcoin, when it had a limited number of followers, a single desktop computer could mine the cryptocurrency in seconds.
The same report revealed that it takes approximately “9 years of typical household electricity” to mine a single bitcoin.
In May 2023, Bitcoin mining was estimated to consume around 95.58 terawatt-hours of electricity.
It reached its highest annual electricity consumption in 2022, peaking at 204.5 terawatt-hours, surpassing Finland’s energy consumption.
By August 2022, Bitcoin is estimated to account for 60-77% of global electricity consumption for cryptocurrencies.
According to a White House report, the total energy consumed by Bitcoin mining in 2022 reached 50 billion kilowatt-hours, highlighting the significant scale of energy use.
The energy consumed by Bitcoin mining exceeds the combined energy use of all operating computers in the United States.
In addition, it falls within the country’s overall electrical consumption range, even for essential needs such as lighting.
A single Bitcoin transaction requires 1,449 kWh to complete, approximately the same amount of energy consumed by an average American home in 50 days.
In monetary terms, considering that the average cost per kilowatt-hour (kWh) in the US is 12 cents. A Bitcoin mining transaction would mean an energy bill of approximately $173.
If the Bitcoin network’s energy consumption were treated as a country, it would rank 34th in energy consumption.
The energy consumption of a single Bitcoin transaction is equivalent to the energy consumption of almost 100,000 Visa transactions.
In May 2023, Bitcoin’s energy consumption per transaction reached 703.25 kWh, while Visa consumed 148.63 kWh.
How to calculate Bitcoin mining and energy consumption
Determining the exact energy consumption of Bitcoin mining is challenging due to several factors, including:
- The decentralized nature of Bitcoin mining
- Lack of standardized reporting requirements
- A dynamic and constantly evolving mining landscape
- The variety of energy sources used by miners
- The private and confidential nature of mining operations
- Accurate energy consumption estimation often relies on assumptions, approximations, and statistical models based on available data.
An infographic published by Digiconomist sheds light on the challenges of accurately determining Bitcoin’s energy consumption.
Therefore, since electricity costs are a significant factor in ongoing expenses, the total electricity consumption of the Bitcoin network is closely linked to miners’ income.
US Bitcoin mining farms and energy consumption data
- The New York Times identified 34 Bitcoin mines, large-scale operations in the United States that substantially overload energy consumption.
- These operations generate costs, such as increased electricity bills and significant carbon emissions, affecting nearby people.
- Each of the 34 operations identified uses at least 30,000 times more energy than the average American home.
- Combined, these operations consume more than 3,900 megawatts of electricity, nearly equivalent to the energy consumption of the surrounding 3 million homes.
- A Bitcoin mining farm in Kearney, Nebraska, consumes the same electricity as 73,000 surrounding homes.
- Meanwhile, an operation in Dalton, Georgia, uses energy equivalent to approximately 97,000 surrounding homes.
Additionally, The Riot Platform mine in Rockdale, Texas, is the most energy-consuming Bitcoin mining operation in the United States.
It uses the same electricity as the 300,000 nearby homes surrounding it.
Riot’s mining operation, located near the Bitdeer mine, collectively consumes energy that exceeds the energy use of all homes within a 40-mile radius.
Texas cryptocurrency miners have secured long-term contracts that guarantee them deeply discounted electricity prices for up to ten years.
Climate change vs. Bitcoin mining and energy consumption
With an average emission factor of 557.76 gCO2/kWh and an estimated electrical load demand of 13.39 GW for the Bitcoin network in August 2021, Bitcoin mining could emit around 65.4 megatons of CO2 annually. Anus.
- The carbon footprint of Bitcoin mining can be estimated based on the sources of electricity used by miners.
- The image below represents the approximate global carbon footprint of Bitcoin mining, similar to the emissions of a country like Greece (56.6 MtCO2 in 2019).
- In addition, it represents 0.19% of global emissions.
- As of May 2021, Bitcoin mining had generated approximately 31,000 tons of electronic waste annually.
- This figure had increased to 35,000 tonnes per year by June 2022, equivalent to the annual e-waste production of the Netherlands.
- For example, Greenidge LLC, a natural gas power plant in New York State, generates an approximate annual emission of 88,440 metric tons of CO2-eq while mining Bitcoin behind the meter.
- If the power plant allocated 100% of its generation capacity to Bitcoin mining, annual emissions would reach 656,983 metric tons of CO2-eq.
- Approximately 79% of total greenhouse gas emissions come from electricity generation, making it the most significant contributor.
- At maximum capacity, annual emissions are equivalent to those produced by about 140,000 passenger cars or from the combustion of 600 million pounds of coal.
Are there benefits behind the energy consumption of Bitcoin mining?
To counter the adverse effects of Bitcoin mining, the Bitcoin Mining Council (BMC), a global forum made up of mining companies representing 48.4% of the global Bitcoin mining network, revealed that renewable energy sources accounted for 58.9% of the electricity used in Bitcoin mining operations in the fourth quarter of 2022.
This represented a notable increase from the 36.8% estimated in the first quarter 2021.
Furthermore, a research paper published by the Bitcoin Clean Energy Initiative Memorandum reported that Bitcoin miners are an ideal complementary technology to renewable energy and storage.
Other highlights underscoring the benefits of Bitcoin mining in the research paper include:
- Bitcoin mining can accelerate the global energy transition towards renewable energy.
- Bitcoin mining could encourage investment in solar systems without any change in the cost of electricity.
- Bitcoin Mining Market Size and Revenue Statistics
- Bitcoin mining, the process of validating transactions and securing the network, has become a competitive industry. As a result, the market size and revenue generated by Bitcoin mining has grown exponentially.
- The market has become very lucrative, with numerous participants worldwide, both individual miners and large-scale mining operations.
- Driven by its rising price, Bitcoin reached new heights in November 2021, surpassing $65,000 and setting an all-time high.
- This significant price rise has contributed to Bitcoin reaching a considerable market capitalization of $597.8 billion by June 2023.
- The maximum supply of Bitcoin is set at 21 million coins.
- It ensures scarcity and is a fundamental aspect that contributes to Bitcoin’s value proposition.
- In March 2023, the number of bitcoins mined exceeded 19 million, with approximately 2 million remaining.
- Once this threshold is reached, no more bitcoins will be created, meaning the end of the total available supply.
- This scarcity, in turn, supports the total capitalization of the Bitcoin mining market, which currently stands at $8.11 billion.
Data from the most significant Bitcoin mining companies
A list compiled by CompaniesMarketCap includes the valuation of the 16 largest publicly traded Bitcoin mining companies.
Among the leading companies in the sector, Marathon Digital Holdings is the largest Bitcoin miner, with a market capitalization of $2.27 billion.
It should be noted that other mining companies may be publicly traded but not listed on the list provided due to their smaller size. Many cryptocurrency mining companies are private entities, so their shares are not listed on the stock exchange.
Canaan is the top publicly traded Bitcoin mining company by revenue, with $650 million reported in 2022.
The Chinese Bitcoin mining company’s revenue mainly comes from sales of Bitcoin mining machines.
Additionally, Canaan is the top publicly traded Bitcoin mining company by profit, achieving $92.33 million in earnings in the four quarters of 2022.
In 2021, the company’s profits saw significant growth, reaching $300 million, which marked an improvement compared to its 2020 loss of $31.2 million.
Bitcoin Mining Revenue Data
- As of June 26, 2023, the daily revenue generated by Bitcoin miners amounts to $27.70 million, showing growth compared to the $18.20 million recorded in the previous 12 months.
- This represents a significant increase of 52.20% compared to the corresponding period of the previous year.
- In April 2021, Bitcoin miners achieved their highest daily earnings since 2018, reaching a remarkable $80.12 million.
- Bitcoin miners experienced an exceptionally high exchange interaction of $128 million in a single transaction on June 27, 2023, Glassnode reports.
- This amount represents a staggering 315% of your daily income.
Sources of Income for Bitcoin Mining
- Miners receive income from two sources: Bitcoin block rewards and transaction fees.
- Bitcoin rewards are earned by miners who successfully mine a block in the blockchain system. To claim the reward, the miner adds it to the beginning of the block.
- Approximately every four years, the reward for successfully mining a block on the Bitcoin network is cut in half.
When Bitcoin was introduced, the reward for mining a block was 50 bitcoins.
In June 2023, the reward for each transaction block was 6.25 bitcoins, approximately every 10 minutes. The next halving is expected around 2024. It will lower the block reward to 3,125 BTC.
| Date | Block
Number |
Block
Reward |
BTC
Created per day |
BTC
starting price |
| January 3, 2009 | Block 0 | fifty | 7200 | N/A |
| November 28, 2012 | Block 210,000 | 25 | 3600 | $12 |
| July 9, 2016 | Block 420,000 | 12.5 | 1800 | $663 |
| May 11, 2020 | Block 630,000 | 6.25 | 900 | $8740 |
| TBD 2024 | Block 840,000 | 3,125 | 450 | N/A |
- Bitcoin splits will occur approximately every 210,000 blocks until 2140 when all 21 million coins will have been minted.
- Once the block reward reaches zero, miners will only receive rewards in the form of transaction fees associated with the transactions included in the block.
- Users pay transaction fees to miners for including their transactions on the Bitcoin blockchain.
- They serve as an incentive for miners to prioritize and include transactions in the blocks they mine.
- As of June 28, 2023, the average Bitcoin transaction fee is $2,226, down from $1,168 12 months earlier.
- Bitcoin average transaction fees have the potential to skyrocket, similar to what happened in April 2021, when they peaked at nearly $62.79.
Bitcoin transaction fees can depend on several factors
- Network congestion
- Transaction size
- Desired confirmation time.
The calculation of commissions is usually based on the transaction size in bytes and not on the transaction amount.
As of June 28, 2023, the average block size was 1.69 MB.
Miners with higher hash rates are more likely to receive the block reward and transaction fees associated with adding a new block to the blockchain.
Hash rate, in the context of Bitcoin mining, refers to the computational power or speed at which a mining device or network can perform cryptographic calculations, known as hashing.
When driven by profit and profitability, hashers often base their coin selection on financial criteria.
This may include factors such as the daily reward amount or the prices of different crypto assets.
Hash rate Index reported in May 2023, the average hash price was $82.23/PH/day (equivalent to 0.00298 BTC/PH/day), which represents an increase of 5.6% compared to the April average of $77.87/PH/day (0.00270 BTC/PH/day).
For reference, below is a hash rate measurement table listing the units of hash rate:
Miners accumulated 33,365 BTC (equivalent to $918.5 million), representing a 20% increase compared to the 27,743 BTC (valued at $800.8 million) earned in April.
Among these rewards, transaction fees brought in 4,540 BTC ($125.8 million) in May, reflecting a 459% increase compared to the 812 BTC ($23.5 million) earned in April.
Bitcoin mining statistics by country
Different nations contribute to the complex Bitcoin mining landscape worldwide, from powerhouses like China and the United States to players like Kazakhstan and Russia.
Bitcoin mining and energy consumption using hydropower in China
Before the ban on Bitcoin mining in June 2021. China was the undisputed leader in hash rate production and energy consumption, with almost 50% of the network’s hash rate.
The ban significantly impacted China’s hash rate movement, resulting in a substantial decline.
According to the Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index (CBECI). China held the title of the world’s largest cryptocurrency mining center at its peak. Commanding a substantial global share of 65% to 75% of the world’s total hash rate—Bitcoin network.
China’s monthly average global hash rate fell from 75.5% in September 2019 to 22.3% in September 2021, marking a significant decline of over 50%.
During the summer rainy seasons in China, abundant hydropower is available in some regions, resulting in lower electricity costs.
Miners used this to move or expand their operations to regions with abundant hydroelectric resources, such as Sichuan.
At the start of the 2020 wet season, Sichuan accounted for 14.9% of China’s total mining power, but this figure rose to 61.1% at its peak.
By contrast, Xinjiang, which predominantly relies on coal power, saw its hash share decline from 55.1% at the start of the wet season to 9.6% at the lowest point during the same period.
Bitcoin mining statistics in the US
The United States is the largest Bitcoin mining industry globally, accounting for over 38% of the global Bitcoin network hash rate.
From January 2020 to January 2022, the United States witnessed a significant increase in its global share of Bitcoin mining, rising from 4.5% to 37.8%.
Georgia had the highest hash rate share in the US, at 30.8% in December 2021.
Texas came in second with 11.2%, while Kentucky secured a notable 10.9%, creating a competitive Bitcoin mining landscape in the country.
With a mining cost of $54,862.05 and a profit of -$24,617.20, Hawaii stands out as the most expensive state to mine one bitcoin.
Global Movement of Bitcoin Mining Distribution
The movement of mining power from China changed the global distribution of mining, resulting in other countries, namely Kazakhstan and Russia, being the primary beneficiaries of the redistributed hash rate.
According to data provided by World Population Review, the current hash rates of the leading Bitcoin mining countries, as of 2023, are as follows:
- United States: 35.4%
- Kazakhstan: 18.1
- Russia: 11.23
- Canada 9.55%
- Ireland 4.68%
- Malaysia: 4.58%
- Germany: 4.48
- Iran 3.1%
Many Chinese Bitcoin miners moved their operations to Kazakhstan after the ban due to the country’s proximity and natural abundance of fossil fuels.
In 2019, fossil fuels contributed to 84% of Kazakhstan’s electricity generation, while hydropower accounted for 12%, and solar and wind installations contributed less than 2%. Coal, sourced mainly from northern regions, fueled more than 70% of the country’s electricity generation.
Kazakhstan’s electricity is generated in 155 power plants with different ownership models.
As of January 1, 2022, the combined installed capacity of Kazakhstan’s power plants reached 23,957 MW, with an available capacity of 19,004 MW.
Between September 2019 and September 2021, Moreover, Kazakhstan saw a notable increase in its global Bitcoin mining share, skyrocketing from 1.3% to an impressive 24.3%.
The country’s Bitcoin mining business is thriving thanks to coal’s affordability and energy efficiency. Additionally, Bitcoin miners in Kazakhstan follow a rigorous schedule, working 12-hour shifts over two weeks until the Bitcoin is successfully mined.
However, according to a report by the Russian media Kommersant from April 2023, Russia has become the second largest Bitcoin miner in the world, after the United States.
Bitriver, Russia’s leading cryptocurrency mining company, has its data centers powered by Gazprom Neft, the country’s third-largest oil producer. Petroleum gas will be used as an energy source to meet the demand for electricity to produce digital currency.
Although the United States maintains a significant lead with a 3-4 gigawatt mining capacity, Russia’s generation capacity reached 1 gigawatt during January-March 2023.
This change in Russia’s classification coincides with the United States’ implementation of tax and regulatory measures on crypto mining at the state and federal levels. Creating a less favorable environment for the industry in the United States.
Bitcoin mining costs compared to other resources
- Bitcoin is often compared to “digital gold” rather than a payment system due to its scalability issues.
- Consequently, we can draw a comparison between Bitcoin mining and gold mining.
- Gold mining annually extracts approximately 3,531 tons of gold, resulting in a total emissions volume of 81 million metric tons of CO2.
- When contrasting the carbon intensity of Bitcoin mining with that of physical gold mining, it is evident that the former surpasses the latter.
- It is important to note that this calculation includes mining fees, which do not exist in physical gold mining.
Furthermore, this comparison is erroneous since we can stop mining physical gold while active mining is part and parcel of Bitcoin’s existence.
The energy costs of material extraction can vary significantly depending on the specific material and extraction method. For example:
According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the energy consumption of copper mining ranges between 0.2 and 1.5 gigajoules per metric ton (GJ/t) of copper produced.
Electrical uses of copper account for approximately three-quarters of total copper consumption.
However, producing one metric ton of aluminum takes approximately 17,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity.
The electrical energy required for aluminum production usually comes from thermal power plants. Which typically operate with a maximum efficiency of around 30%.
In 2021, electric utilities and independent power producers in the United States. It used the following average annual amounts of coal, natural gas, and petroleum fuels to generate one kilowatt-hour (kWh) of electricity:
- Coal-1.12 lbs/kWh
- Natural gas-7.36 cubic feet/kWh
- Petroleum liquids-0.08 gallons/kWh
- Petroleum coke-0.82 pounds/kWh
