The tax is intended to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, electricity costs and local environmental pollution, but has not been kindly received by the crypto community.
BTC energy use jumps 41% in 12 months, increasing regulatory risks
Despite the European Union rejecting a proposal banning crypto mining earlier this year, more regulations could soon be implemented to mitigate the environmental impacts of crypto mining.
Sustainable energy usage for BTC mining grows nearly 60% in a year
The latest Bitcoin Mining Council report showed that the mining industry is rapidly adopting sustainable energy sources to secure the largest crypto blockchain.
Controversial Bitcoin Mining Council Confirms “Sustainable Power Mix”
The Bitcoin Mining Council is back at it. The controversial initiative lead by Michael Saylor presented “the findings of its first quarterly survey focused on two important metrics: electricity consumption and sustainable power mix.” The broadcast was delivered via YouTube and open to the public. They choose to limit their reproduction in other sites, though. So, embedding it is not possible.
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According to their survey, Bitcoin mining’s power mix increased to 56% sustainable energy. That figure comes from the answers from “over 32 percent of the current global Bitcoin network.” Can we trust them? Potentially. Will the anti-Bitcoin media and conflicting economic actors believe them? That’s another story altogether.
The still suspect organization was created to combat the environmental FUD spread by Elon Musk and most of the legacy media. Their reason-to-be already appeared on these pages:
The Bitcoin Mining Council (BMC) stated that its purpose is not to be a regulating body of any kind. They are not here to tell anybody what to do. It is to be a forum that is open to all miners. There is no fee required to join. The members just have to agree to be transparent about their energy mix and hash rate sizes for research and educational purposes.
However, the Bitcoin community remains skeptical. The smell of centralization is not tolerated, and these types of organizations tend towards that direction. Is this an open group or a private country club? On the other hand, other members of the community think that “Bitcoin doesn’t care” and that everyone is free to do as they please.
To combat all those narratives, the Bitcoin Mining Council started to hold its meetings out in the open… but always retaining a little bit of that behind-closed-doors allure.
On Thursday, July 1 at 4pm EDT the Bitcoin Mining Council will distribute its Q2 2021 Briefing, clarifying actual #Bitcoin Electricity Usage, to be followed by a briefing for the general public at 5pm.
— Michael Saylor (@michael_saylor) June 28, 2021
I.E. YOU are the “general public.”
As Mines Leave China, The Bitcoin Mining Council Attacks
One of the main arguments against the Bitcoin community’s claims that their mining is one of the cleanest industries in the world was China. An estimated 60% of the miners were located in the region, and even though Nic Carter went to great lengths to prove that they were mostly using green energy, the anti-Bitcoin media didn’t believe it. Because they didn’t trust data from China.
Well, the Chinese Government banned Bitcoin mining. As NewsBTC reported, the great miners’ migration is well underway.
Tons and tons of mining equipment are currently traveling to their new homes. There are reports of a huge operation in Kazhakstan, a neighboring nation of China. There are also rumors of equipment and personnel already settling down in Texas. The US state is making a push to become a Bitcoin mining capital, and apparently, the efforts already bore fruit.
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About this fact, the Bitcoin Mining Council’s press release says:
Darin Feinstein, founder of Blockcap and Core Scientific, noted that the survey comes at a pivotal moment as the Bitcoin industry sees its mining operations further decentralized as a result of miners leaving China. “Despite China shutting down over 60 percent of the global Bitcoin network, the Bitcoin network experienced zero downtime, no bailouts, has registered no bankruptcies and simply adapted by redeploying its infrastructure into regions that have greater freedoms.”
BTC price chart on Bitbay | Source: BTC/USD on TradingView.com
The BMC Survey Results For Q2 2021
Based on the Bitcoin Mining Council survey of the network, mining electricity mix increased to 56% sustainable in Q2 2021, making #Bitcoin one of the cleanest industries in the world.https://t.co/wWWgjebdtN
— Michael Saylor (@michael_saylor) July 1, 2021
The good news is, there’s data to show that Bitcoin’s “mining electricity mix increased to 56% sustainable in Q2 2021.” Is that data valid? That’s another question altogether. The Bitcoin Mining Council elaborates on the results:
The results of this survey show that the members of the BMC and participants in the survey are currently utilizing electricity with a 67% sustainable power mix. Based on this data it is estimated that the global mining industry’s sustainable electricity mix had grown to approximately 56 percent, during Q2 2021
So yeah, the figures are estimations and the data comes from a voluntary survey. We’ll have to wait and see how the story and figures evolve once the China miners find their new homes.
For more information about the Bitcoin Mining Council, go here.
Featured Image by Bitcoin Mining Council | Charts by TradingView
Bitcoin Mining Council survey estimates a 56% sustainable power mix in Q2
According to the Bitcoin Mining Council, the global Bitcoin mining industry now uses 56% sustainable energy.
Bitcoin Mining Council: We Need To Tackle Negative Media Narratives
The Bitcoin Mining Council has publicized its aim to tackle negative media narratives.
In its inaugural meeting which was hosted on Twitter Spaces, the council discussed bad press that has been surrounding Bitcoin and its mining in the past weeks. The China crackdown has led to the shut down of a number of mining farms. Mining has been restricted in regions like Inner Mongolia and miners are having to look for new places to set up operations in the meantime.
Concerns over energy consumption and pollution from mining activities have been rocking the space for a while. People have called for there to be more options for green and efficient Bitcoin mining. Movement from fossil fuel energy to more sustainable energy like hydropower for mining activities have been strongly encouraged.
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In light of these issues, Michael Saylor, CEO of MicroStrategy, formed the council with other prominent members in the space.
Bitcoin Mining Council Mandate
Saylor had created the council in response to ongoing debates about Tesla accepting Bitcoin payments. The debates were mostly about if Tesla had examined the energy expenditures involved with Bitcoin mining before making such a move.
With prominent founders such as Galaxy, Riot, MicroStrategy, and a host of others, a lot of attention was on the first BMC meeting to see what the outcome would be.
The council which was announced about a month ago held its first official meeting on Twitter yesterday. The meeting was open to the public and anyone could join in. With over 7,000 listeners in attendance, the council went on to outline the council’s objectives.
Bitcoin price chart | Source: BTCUSD on TradingView.com
The Bitcoin Mining Council (BMC) stated that its purpose is not to be a regulating body of any kind. They are not here to tell anybody what to do. It is to be a forum that is open to all miners. There is no fee required to join. The members just have to agree to be transparent about their energy mix and hash rate sizes for research and educational purposes.
Its mandate is to promote transparency, share best practices, and educate the public on the benefits of Bitcoin and Bitcoin mining, according to the website.
Curbing Negative Media Narratives
Talking about the negative press that has been surrounding mining, the members focused on getting ahead of the media.
There were also issues regarding whether public companies involvement would be good or bad for mining. Not wanting smaller operations to get swallowed up by bigger ones and discouraging people from getting into it.
CEO Michael Saylor was less concerned about board members or activists pressures. Highlighting that he was more worried about negative media narratives around Bitcoin mining might influence political decisions. This, he believes, would create real barriers to entry in some jurisdictions
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Saylor is quoted saying, “You could be a maximalist and say I’m against organization as a matter of philosophy, but if you get sued by a multibillionaire that wants to sue an individual Bitcoin developer and you get buried in $10 million in legal fees, you’ll be wishing that there was an organized legal defense fund for you. Basically, we can’t expect to succeed if we’re disorganized.”
This raised major points as to why the council is needed. It could act a form of protection for smaller miners. Having basically a coalition behind them should any issues arise that they are too small to handle or ill-prepared for.
According to Saylor, the BMC is not here to fix Bitcoin. It’s simply here to protect it from the people who misunderstand it. The BMC wants to help keep the negative narratives from influencing political decisions against Bitcoin.
Featured image from Bitcoin Mining Council, chart from TradingView.com
Crypto Long & Short: What I’ve Learned in the Past Five Years
Seven main takeaways on crypto markets from my time at CoinDesk. Plus: the future of the Bitcoin Mining Council.
Elon Musk not right person to lead green Bitcoin debate, Nic Carter says
Policymakers should encourage greener grids for local Bitcoin mining, Carter suggested.
