Nuclear industry proved to be the most efficient for bitcoin mining — study

The most efficient and popular sources of energy for bitcoin mining are the nuclear and gas industries, according to researchers at the University of Cambridge. According to the data, as of January 2022, coal and natural gas accounted for 62% of the total energy used for mining the flagship cryptocurrency. At that time, the use of hydropower accounted for only 15%. The researchers emphasized that in 2020, coal power provided 40% of global BTC mining. Instead, hydropower accounted for 34%, and at present, the figures have halved.

Meanwhile, the role of natural gas and nuclear energy in bitcoin mining has increased significantly over the past two years. Thus, the share of gas used for BTC mining increased from about 13% in 2020 to 23% in 2021, while the share of nuclear energy increased from 4% in 2021 to almost 9% in 2022. The surge in nuclear and gas power for crypto mining allegedly shows a «shift in mining power towards the United States,» analysts say. According to experts, the current level of greenhouse gas emissions associated with bitcoin mining is approximately 0.1% of all global emissions.

It is worth reminding that the World Economic Forum has created the Coalition for the Sustainable Development of Cryptocurrencies. The organization should assess the role of digital assets and blockchain in the fight against climate change. The Crypto Sustainability Coalition includes 30 companies, educational groups, and other industry representatives, including cryptocurrency projects Solana, Avalanche, Circle, NEAR Foundation, Ripple, and Stellar Development Foundation. They will be researching the impact of Web3 on energy consumption and how detrimental mining is to the environment. The coalition should propose innovations to improve the climate, ways to mine cryptocurrency using renewable energy.