The China ban on bitcoin mining in China, which took place in the middle of last year, was a significant blow to the sector. It saw the once-famous region as the mining capital of the globe’s hash rate drop to almost zero, and miners had to close their operations. The Chinese government had concerns about electricity consumption and the impact on the environment as the reason.
The miners had to establish new businesses and obtain electricity for their mining farms. This can be very energy-intensive. A new report states that these new energy sources were largely non-renewable, in comparison to the ones used by miners in China. This means that bitcoin mining’s energy impact has increased in recent months.
Bitcoin Mining Carbon Footprint Now Worse
It’s been less than one year since China banned bitcoin mining. The effects are already being felt energy wise. Following the ban, the general consensus was that miners would look for more renewable energy sources to avoid repeating the problems in the region. New research has shown that this isn’t true. Instead, bitcoin mining has made things worse.
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China is well-known for its extensive use of hydropower, a renewable source of energy, and miners in the country had used significant amounts of renewable energy to power their operations. Even then, the mining industry’s carbon footprint was enough to make a stink. The Joule journal has been revealedIt is not necessary that miners have increased their renewable energy consumption.
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The study found that bitcoin miners have been using less renewable energy since the ban. This number reached 42% in August, when it was at its highest. However, the renewable energy use in mining has dropped to 25% within seven months.
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Bitcoin mining continues producing significant amounts of carbon dioxide each year. Bitcoin mining is now less green than ever, producing over 65 megatons annually. In comparison, the entire nation of Greece produced less carbon dioxide than bitcoin mining in 2019, at 57 megatons. This means that miners produce more CO2 than whole countries.
Many of the Chinese miners who left China have moved to countries where they can get energy from burins hard coal, which is more polluting. This new study shows mining is not good for the environment. Its carbon intensity already increased by 17%.
Featured image by Bloomberg, chart at TradingView.com
