Are Bitcoin and crypto going green? PoW & PoS and renewable energy

Thanks to the recent report by the Bitcoin Mining Council (BMC) we got new and promising data! Nearly 60% (59.5%) of the electricity used to power Bitcoin (BTC) mining machines comes from renewable sources!

In the Bitcoin Network Q2 review, we can see a decent improvement in sustainable energy usage — going up a +6% from Q2 2021 and up 2% from Q1 2022. With 59.5% the BMC is claiming that Bitcoin mining is becoming “one of the most sustainable industries globally”.

Why are we writing about this? Because this news aligns with the GamerHash long-term goal of bringing crypto to the green economy.

Proof of Work currencies vs. risk of climate change

The report by the European Commission (July 17, 2022) indicates that Bitcoin and other Proof-of-Work (PoW) currencies do not belong to the world of the green energy transition.

The European Commission report Mining the environment — is climate risk priced into crypto-assets? even indicated that BTC should be banned in the European Union till 2025. The most recent data from the BMC shows however, that this approach is faulty, and that Bitcoin mining can indeed be green — and it is becoming such quarter by quarter.

Crypto mining vs. renewable energy landscape

If you are a prosumer — a person that is both an energy producer and a consumer you probably know that renewable energy production is not constant (in most cases prosumers are people who own solar panels in the house).

The energy produced by solar panels is produced only during the day (obviously!), but the highest energy usage in the house is usually present in the evenings. The prosumers have to therefore not use the energy and send it to the grid, often at a lower price than the market one. In the case of the off-grid solar panels, the excess energy can be even wasted!

This is why the hybrid model of crypto mining is becoming more and more popular. When there is an excess of energy — like sometimes in West Texas (wind & power) or nuclear plants at night — it can be used for Bitcoin mining. At other times, the energy can come from the grid or the miners can be turned off.

By using the excess renewable energy we can monetize the energy that otherwise would go to waste (into the ground). In this model, energy production can be more beneficial for both innovations in the renewable energy sector and for maintaining the secure Bitcoin network.

Bitcoin Mining Council-Bitcoin Network data

The Q2 report by Bitcoin Mining Council is a voluntary and open forum for Bitcoin mining companies and other companies in the Bitcoin industry, all of which are committed to the Bitcoin Network and its core principles. The organization promotes transparency, shares best practices, and educates the public on the benefits of Bitcoin and Bitcoin mining.

At this point, BMC collected over 50% of the global Bitcoin Network mining data — which makes the previous number of the 59,5% Bitcoin Network being green just an estimation. Yet the estimation seems to be very decent considering that 66.8% of the entities within the organization use renewable energy to power the BTC miners.

Energy efficiency in PoS — The Ethereum Merge

The whole crypto space, or at least the top crypto coins, are moving into renewable energy sources. The second biggest cryptocurrency Ethereum is closer and closer to The Merge — a process of changing the Proof-of-Work algorithm to the Proof-of-Stake (PoS).

More specifically, The Merge will be a process of the current Ethereum Mainnet merging with the Beacon Chain proof-of-stake system. The process will change the energy consumption of the ETH network. As a result, it will be 99.95% lower — using just 2.62 megawatts on a continuing basis!

It means the first GHX chain is going to be eco, too!

GamerHash for the green future!

GamerHash has been promoting green energy and low CO2 solutions for a long time now. We were educating crypto communities about mining, ecology, and the environment before.

We have also partnered with blockchain projects that have the environment at heart — like Polygon and integrated the BNB Smart Chain for cheaper, faster, and more eco-friendly transactions.

While decentralizing the world and having fun in the metaverses, let’s not forget about the earth — our home!

Stay tuned for more and greener news!