The high power consumption of BTC mining has now become BTC’s biggest target. In addition to the possible use for money laundering and other criminal activities, this is the ultimate argument against the cryptocurrency for numerous critics such as US Senator Elizabeth Warren.
Certainly one can be divided as to whether the high power consumption of BTC is actually justified or not. However, the picture drawn in many media reports is often very one-sided. Among other things, the question of what role the Proof-of-Work (PoW) process plays in terms of network security is completely ignored. In addition, advances in the energy mix and the role of BTC mining in stabilizing the power grid are often only mentioned in passing.
Innovative approaches
Yes, the mining industry – like so many other sectors – is not yet completely climate-neutral. According to the BTC Mining Councils albeit at 58.5 percent. In addition, there is hardly any other industry that researches innovative solutions to use generated energy even more efficiently.
An example of this is Stronghold Digital Mining. The Pennsylvania company, for example, uses coal waste to power its computers. The company describes how it all works in one Reuters-Contribution and on his website. Stronghold collects coal ash from a nearby mine and processes it in a processing plant. After the coal ash is sorted and crushed, it is burned in a boiler building to generate electricity for the company’s BTC mining. Coal ash is a by-product of burning coal to generate electricity. This can seep into the groundwater and contains, among other things, heavy metals that are considered carcinogenic.
BTC mining creates incentives for investments
While the crypto sector is still experiencing political headwinds in the USA, a whole army of US MPs from both parties is now forming, who have recognized the potential of BTC and Co. and are publicly campaigning for crypto. This includes Texas Congressman Pete Sessions. A few days ago, he leaned out the window with a daring prognosis. on Twitter the US politician announced that BTC mining will play a “critical role in rebuilding energy independence in the US”.
The US state of Texas is now considered the BTC mining center of the country. The Lone Star State miners account for around 14 percent of the global BTC hashrate. Many of the big BTC mining companies have settled there close to the big energy producers. According to Fred Thiel, CEO of , the flexible purchase of electricity is even leading to increased investment in renewable energies Marathon Digital Holdingsone of the largest BTC miners in North America:
In fact, BTC mining is the single biggest incentive for energy producers to build more renewable energy plants, because when there is an energy surplus, there are no customers other than the miners who would buy the new additional power generation capacity
Fred Thiel
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