The US Wants to Know About Bitcoin Miners’ Energy Use—Bitcoin Mining Landscape Overview
Data, trends, and insights in the Bitcoin mining industry
Key takeaways:
- U.S. Miners Will Have to Report Their Energy Usage to the White House
- Marathon’s MaraPool Faces Unusual Block Production Slump
- Mining Achieves Record 54.5% Sustainable Energy Usage
U.S. Miners Will Have to Report Their Energy Usage to the White House
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) has announced plans to closely monitor electricity consumption by cryptocurrency mining companies in the country.
In response to concerns about the energy-intensive nature of mining operations, the EIA will launch a survey of select bitcoin miners, requiring them to disclose their energy usage details.
The survey aims to understand how power demand for cryptocurrency mining is evolving, identify regions with concentrated mining growth, and assess the electricity sources used for these operations.
💡 Last year, the Rocky Mountain Institute estimated that global bitcoin mining consumes 127 terawatt-hours annually, surpassing the energy consumption of entire countries such as Norway.
The EIA acknowledges the significance of cryptocurrency mining as a demand factor but emphasizes the need for better data to substantiate its impact.
The agency anticipates providing more information in the coming months.
Marathon’s MaraPool Faces Unusual Block Production Slump
Marathon’s MaraPool, the largest public bitcoin mining company, has seen a significant drop in the number of blocks mined over the weekend, raising questions about potential hashrate downtime or bad luck.
From averaging five blocks daily in the New Year until the 25th, it gradually declined to two and one blocks on Friday and Saturday, respectively, reaching zero on Sunday.
The cause remains unclear, as Marathon has not made any statements regarding this odd situation.
Despite recent block production challenges, MaraPool mined 940 BTC in January month-to-date, constituting 3.25% of total bitcoin rewards, down from 5.05% in December.
Bitcoin Miners Increase Selling Pressure Ahead of Halving, Analysts Note Strategic Move
Bitcoin miners are strategically selling assets to cover costs as the next halving approaches, according to on-chain analytics provider CryptoQuant.
The data reveals a significant shift in the mining sector, with a notable reduction in Bitcoin reserves held by miners and an increase in BTC transfers to centralized exchanges.
Analysts suggest this trend indicates strong selling pressure from the mining community. As the halving — estimated to occur in 87 days — approaches, miners traditionally take profits to cover operational costs and invest in more efficient equipment due to intensified competition.
The current Bitcoin miner reserves stand at 1.83 million BTC, valued at around $73.4 billion, and have been declining since the selling phase began in October.
The increased selling pressure from miners could impact Bitcoin’s price in the short term, according to CryptoQuant.
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