Cambridge's latest report: The energy structure of Bitcoin mining has quietly changed.

Currently, 52.4% of the Bitcoin network Computing Power comes from "zero-emission" energy.

Written by: DSBatten

Compiled by: Dingdang (@XiaMiPP)

Editor’s Note: The Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance (CCAF) has released the latest version of the Bitcoin Mining Sustainability Report, providing a very key new data point: currently, 52.4% of the Bitcoin network's Computing Power comes from "zero-emission" energy. In the previous report, this figure was only 37%. In other words, the progress of Bitcoin mining's "green transformation" in terms of energy structure has far exceeded many people's expectations.

Now, the Bitcoin network has:

• More than half of the Computing Power comes from zero-carbon energy.
• Carbon intensity is lower than most industries
• The device recovery rate exceeds 86%
• Methane emissions reduction is having a substantial impact.

The following content is a summary of the key points of this report by @DSBatten, compiled by Odaily Planet Daily:

Read the full report:

Note: The research team conducted an in-depth investigation of 49 real operating Bitcoin mining companies for the first time, no longer relying solely on outdated models to estimate data. This significantly increased the credibility of the entire report and provided us with a more comprehensive understanding of the energy usage methods in Bitcoin mining.

1. 26% of mining comes from "off-grid" power, green energy is more common.

An important new finding is that 26% of the world's Bitcoin mining Computing Power comes from "off-grid" energy (i.e., energy not connected to the mainstream power grid). Most of these mining farms are built in areas with lower electricity costs and close to clean energy sources, such as mountainous regions rich in hydropower, plateaus with strong wind energy, areas abundant in geothermal resources, and even places that directly generate power using natural gas flaring.

In contrast, early reports mostly assumed that mining was simply an "online" activity, ignoring the existence of "off-grid" miners. In fact, off-grid mining is more likely to use renewable energy or waste energy utilization methods, resulting in relatively smaller environmental impacts.

2. Carbon emission intensity has significantly decreased, lower than many traditional industries.

In terms of carbon emissions, this report provides a latest estimate: the Bitcoin network produces 288.2 grams of CO₂e/kWh per kilowatt-hour. This value is already lower than many large traditional industries and is very close to the estimate by independent researcher Daniel Batten (266 grams), indicating that the data is basically reliable.

More importantly, the total annual carbon emissions of the Bitcoin network is about 39.8 million tons of CO₂e, a figure that is lower than many people imagine, and there has been basically no significant growth in the past four years. This is mainly due to two factors:

• Mining machines are becoming more efficient, with stronger computing power per unit of energy consumption.
• More and more miners are actively migrating to areas that use clean energy.

3. Methane reduction measures are starting to take effect, with 5.5% of emissions already offset.

In addition to "what electricity to use," the mining industry is starting to adopt some more "aggressive" carbon reduction measures. For example, some mining companies are directly using flare gas, which would originally be burned off in oil and gas fields, to generate electricity for mining. This way, not only do they mine, but they also prevent methane from being directly released into the atmosphere.

After calculating this "negative carbon energy," the net emissions of the Bitcoin network have dropped to 37.6 million tons CO₂e, approximately 5.5% lower than the initial data. This contribution to emissions reduction can no longer be ignored.

4. The mining machine recovery rate reaches 86.9%, and electronic waste disposal is better than most industries.

Many people are concerned that the rapid update of Bitcoin mining equipment may generate a lot of electronic waste. This report also responds to this issue:

• 86.9% of devices were recycled, resold, or reused, and were not directly scrapped;
• Only 3.2% of enterprises do not have a dedicated electronic waste management plan.

This indicates that the awareness of the Bitcoin mining industry regarding environmental protection is actually much higher than what outsiders imagine.

5. Mining equipment is becoming increasingly efficient, and many people underestimate this.

The Cambridge team also specifically mentioned that many past criticisms of Bitcoin being "energy-intensive" actually overlook a key variable: device efficiency has been improving.

From the early CPU/GPU to ASIC-specific chips, each iteration brings an increase in computing power per unit of energy consumption. Just as the people who commented that the Internet was "too power-hungry" did not consider Moore's Law, many people now ignore the energy efficiency revolution brought about by the progress of mining machines.

6. The "illegal uses" of Bitcoin are decreasing, not increasing.

The report also explains the usage of Bitcoin in illegal activities: data shows that the proportion used for illegal purposes peaked in 2019, with the absolute number reaching its peak in 2022, and now both indicators are on the decline.

This report is a positive correction of the perception of Bitcoin's "stigmatization." It breaks the outdated impression of "Bitcoin = fossil fuels" and provides a new factual basis for policymakers, regulatory agencies, and the media.