America

2024

Bitcoin

In the first few months of 2024, <a href="https://ultramining.com/news/en/senator-lummis-pushes-for-crypto-regulation-amid-sec-lawsuits/">U.S.</a> <a href="https://ultramining.com/news/en/russias-bitcoin-gold-rush-mining-machine-influx-outpaces-rest-of-the-world/">Bitcoin miners</a> spent a staggering $2.7 billion on <a href="https://ultramining.com/news/en/minnesota-man-faces-accusations-of-electricity-theft-for-bitcoin-mining/">electricity</a>, according to analyst Paul Hoffman from Best Brokers. Bitcoin mining in the U.S. consumed 20,822.62 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of electric power at an average commercial electricity rate of $0.1281 per kilowatt-hour (kWh), resulting in a total expenditure of $2,667,378,196.47, according to <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/2-7-billion-worth-electricity-spent-bitcoin-mining-us-2024">Cointelegraph</a>. 
Hoffman noted that this energy could charge every electric vehicle in the U.S. 87.52 times or power 1,983,107 households for a year, which accounts for 1.51% of all U.S. households. Globally, 116,550 Bitcoins worth $8.2 billion have been mined so far in 2024, with U.S. miners producing 44,102 BTC, or 37.84% of the global total. 
The recent Bitcoin <a href="https://ultramining.com/news/en/heat-waves-and-halving-bitcoin-miners-cash-in-amid-rising-prices/">Halving</a> event in April, which reduced block rewards from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC, has slashed miners' profitability. Before the halving, it required 407,059 kWh of power to mine 1 BTC, costing around $52,144. Post-halving, this figure has jumped to 862,635 kWh, costing about $110,503 at average commercial rates. 
Despite the high energy usage, Bitcoin mining is predominantly powered by sustainable energy. As of January, 54.5% of Bitcoin mining is done using sustainable energy, with a 3.6% increase in sustainable mining in 2023. Following mining bans in <a href="https://ultramining.com/news/en/immersion-cooling-transforms-chinas-crypto-mining-landscape/">China</a> and <a href="https://ultramining.com/news/en/global-bitcoin-mining-activity-soars-hashrate-hits-record-high/">Kazakhstan</a>, many miners have moved to greener grids in North America or sustainable off-grid sites. 
As of now, roughly 19.5 million Bitcoins have been mined out of the total supply of 21 million. This trend highlights the growing importance of sustainable practices in the crypto mining industry. The increasing adoption of sustainable energy sources is crucial for minimizing the environmental impact of Bitcoin mining while maintaining profitability.

$2.7B Spent on Electricity for U.S. Bitcoin Mining in 2024

Ultramining_Eng

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