Bitcoin mining is becoming increasingly environmentally friendly and sustainable, with the level of emissions continuously decreasing.
For the first time, the intensity of emissions from Bitcoin mining has fallen below 300g/KWh, marking an all-time low.
Climate technology venture investor and environmental activist Daniel Batten published his observations on May 29th. He highlighted that the Bitcoin network has managed to halve its emission intensity in a little over three years.
He emphasized, “No other industry is achieving such a rapid reduction in its emission intensity.”
Compared to its energy usage, Bitcoin mining now generates fewer greenhouse gases.
The decline in emissions is largely attributed to the use of more sustainable energy sources for Bitcoin mining and the increased efficiency of mining hardware, which contributes to a lower emission intensity.
There has been a noticeable trend of Bitcoin mining operators gravitating towards countries with sustainable energy offerings, like those found in Scandinavia. Jaran Mellerud, a researcher, noted on May 29th that electricity prices in Nordic countries continue to be negative.
Mellerud stated, “Bitcoin miners in Finland and the northern regions of Norway and Sweden continue to be compensated for their electricity consumption.”
However, there is a downside as the Bitcoin network hash rate is nearing its maximum levels, which poses a challenge for miners. As per Blockchain.com data, the total hash rate currently stands at 365 EH/s (exahashes per second).
The network difficulty, a metric determining the competition among miners, is also at its highest level of 49T.
These factors adversely impact profitability, which is currently low. The Hash Rate Index reports that the hash price is at a meager $0.075 per terahash per second per day.
The hash price momentarily peaked to $0.128 amid the memecoin creation frenzy earlier in the month but has since receded. Over the past year, the hash price has experienced a 44% decline due to falling BTC prices and escalating energy costs.
Despite these challenges, Bitcoin prices have seen an uptick today. The cryptocurrency has increased by 3.1%, surpassing $28,000 for the first time in two weeks. However, since mid-March, BTC prices have remained somewhat stagnant.
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