Bitcoin Mining Council Publishes Q1 2022 Survey Results, Confirming key Improvements

A recent Bitcoin Mining Council Survey shows that its constituent mining companies and other survey participants use 64.6% sustainable power to run their operations.

Bitcoin miners, representing 100.9 exahash (EH) of the global mining power, participated in a  survey covering three areas: how technology efficient the companies were, their electricity consumption, and their sustainable energy mix. The survey results pin the share of mining energy from sustainable sources at 64.6%, with the global estimate around 58.4%, a 59% increase since the first quarter of 2021, highlighting the sustainability potential of the industry. Survey results also point to the rise in the efficiency of electricity usage, from 12.6 EH per gigawatt (EH/GW) to 20 EH/GW.

BMC Survey numbers explained

Forty-four companies across five continents are part of the BMC, which was founded a little over a year ago, including Riot Blockchain, Bitdeer, Bitfury, and Core Scientific. MicroStrategy and its CEO Michael Saylor are also supporters of the BMC. Saylor had the following to say about the survey results, “In the first quarter of 2022, the hashrate and related security of the Bitcoin Network improved by 23% year-on-year while energy usage decreased 25%. We observed a 63% year-on-year increase in efficiency due to advances in semiconductor technology, the rapid expansion of North American mining, the China Exodus, and the worldwide adoption of sustainable energy and modern bitcoin mining techniques.”

Saylor was part of a YouTube live stream on April 25, 2022, where high-profile BMC members explained the survey results. Saylor said that the energy consumed globally by bitcoin miners is only 247 TWh out of the 154750 TWh generated globally, or 0.16%. In other words, Saylor said, other things use approximately 99.8% of electricity globally. For comparison, 26841 TWh are used by residential buildings, and 15,424 TWh by road vehicles.

Saylor also said triumphantly that bitcoin mining’s carbon emissions are 0.08% of the total global emissions. He also highlighted how the improvements in semiconductor technology have resulted in greater efficiency that will continue in the coming years. “As miners rotate and keep upgrading, we’ll see this ‘joules per terahash’ number coming down quarter by quarter.”

Truthful news required, says Feinstein

Co-founder of Core Scientific Darin Feinstein lauded the growth in the membership of the BMC, saying that it allows the world to see a clearer picture of the state of global bitcoin energy consumption. “The BMC membership hashrate increased from 29 EH at its inception to 101 EH in Q1 2022. In only one year’s time, the BMC now represents 50% of the global Bitcoin Mining Network, with members spread across five continents…We hope that those with journalistic integrity honor their commitment to providing truthful media and news with use of this ground-breaking data, accessible to all.”

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