Although the figures sounds encouraging, some questions are being raised over this data.
Some 56% of the energy used by Bitcoin miners came from sustainable energy sources in the second quarter of 2021, new figures claim.
The Bitcoin Mining Council says it collected information from 32% of the global BTC network for its survey — and heralded crypto as “one of the most sustainable industries globally.”
However, it may be a little too early to pop open a bottle of champagne. Decrypt rightly notes that council members have “skin in the game,” adding:
“The council cites its own ‘analysis, assumptions, and extrapolation’ as the sole source for the number, and leaves the word ‘sustainable’ open to interpretation. No precise energy breakdowns were provided.”
After Tesla suspended accepting Bitcoin as a payment method over environmental concerns, Elon Musk said the electric vehicle company would only embrace cryptocurrency when there’s “confirmation” that miners use 50% clean energy.
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Bitcoin Network ‘Strong as Ever’
The BMC was founded with support from some of the world’s biggest Bitcoin mining companies, alongside MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor. He explained that the council intends to perform quarterly surveys about Bitcoin’s energy usage going forward, adding:
“Just because the Bitcoin network is decentralized doesn’t mean it has to be disorganized.”
Blockcap and Core Scientific founder Darin Feinstein added that the Bitcoin industry is at a pivotal moment — and the high number of miners leaving China serves as a crucial boost for decentralization. He said:
“Despite China shutting down over 60 percent of the global Bitcoin network, the Bitcoin network experienced zero downtime, no bailouts, has registered no bankruptcies and simply adapted by redeploying its infrastructure into regions that have greater freedoms. The network remains as strong as ever, it simply shrugs off adversity and moves forward.”
