Cambridge and IEA data show that Bitcoin’s carbon intensity peaked in the last year

Bitcoin’s carbon footprint (BTC) may have peaked, according to public data from the University of Cambridge’s Center for Alternative Finance and the International Energy Agency (IEA).

The environmental impact of Bitcoin’s electricity consumption is a popular discussion point among crypto-pacing critics and journalists. But given the data available, Hass McCook, a retired professional engineer, believes Bitcoin’s carbon footprint “peaked” a few months ago.

McCook unpacked the data and defended that conclusion in a post on the Bitcoin Magazine website on Friday:

“From the above, it appears that Bitcoin emissions peaked a few months ago and luckily, with the Bitcoin mining ban in China, it has begun its active march to zero emissions. In the worst case, Bitcoin emissions are expected to be less than a third of today’s emissions in five years ‘time, and Bitcoin will not emit anything in 10 years’ time. “

BitAll’s bitcoin mining infrastructure was created over the past 12 years and gives miners a “second head start” to harness the latest, most sustainable green technology operations to power Bitcoin mining.

Data from the Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index shows that global bitcoin mining has cleaner “grid strength” (carbon emissions per unit of electricity consumed) than the global average global electricity grid. The global average is 463 grams of CO2 per kilowatt hour. The average bitcoin miner is 418 grams.

Meanwhile, global network strength peaked last year if, according to the IEA, the energy industry remains on course with forecasts for 2021 and beyond.

Computers running Bitcoin Core to validate and place new blocks on the Bitcoin blockchain need to use some power to correctly guess the input into the SHA-256 cryptographic hash.

SHA-256 (short for Secure Hash Algorithm) is a one-way hash function released by the US National Security Agency in 2001 and is an integral part of the Bitcoin design architecture. The computer tests the guess by feeding it into the algorithm and checking if it matches the hash of the previous block. The first node to guess the hash correctly places the next transaction block and rewards the Bitcoin miner with the newly generated Bitcoin.

This proof-of-work PoW mechanism qualifies nodes to participate in the network by forcing miners to risk electricity bills and lose operating costs without profit if their computers attempt to defraud the rules of the network.

Some critics and even proponents of Bitcoin say that its energy consumption poses environmental risks and can contribute to human-made global warming. Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, famously rocked Bitcoin price this year by announcing that the electric car maker would accept BTC for Tesla and then regulate it again.

Musk said Tesla will accept Bitcoin again if it is confirmed that 50% or more of miners’ energy use comes from “clean energy sources.”

McCook said most of the claims about Bitcoin issuance are exaggerated:

“One of the most heavily contested, but still widely held, claims by the ‘Academy’ is that Bitcoin will single-handedly raise the temperature of the planet by 2 degrees Celsius.”

A survey report by the Bitcoin Mining Council this week estimates a sustainable energy mix of 56% for the second quarter of 2021 in Bitcoin mining operations worldwide based on respondents’ responses.