In Q3 2022, BTC mining accounts for 5% more energy consumption than in Q2. CO² emissions are up 33%. The increase in numbers has the potential to draw regulatory attention.
According to a Bitcoin Mining Council (BMC) report, BTC mining consumes 0.16% of global energy production in Q3 this year, while atmospheric CO² emissions are 0.1% of global levels.
While low on a global scale, the increase is still tangible. For example, Bitcoin energy consumption in Q2 2022 was at 253 TWh, and BTC mining started consuming 5% more (266 TWh) in Q3. At the same time, emissions rose even more significantly, showing an increase of 33% to 0.04 billion tons per year.
The use of renewable energy by mining companies fell slightly compared to Q2 this year. Now a total of 59.4% of electricity for BTC mining comes from green sources.
The BMC analysts attribute rising figures to the higher hash rate of the Bitcoin network, which jumped by 8.34% in Q3 2022. The efficiency of BTC mining rose by 23% year-on-year. However, the analysts fear that further growth in performance could attract unwanted attention from regulators.
The attacks on miners by ecologists contribute to this. Recall that after Ethereum switched to PoS, Bitcoin mining capacity was 99% of the entire hash rate of PoW networks. This prompted climate change experts to oppose BTC mining.
Regulators have already raised the issue of green mining and continue to closely monitor Bitcoin’s impact on the climate. For example, the European REPowerEU plan includes mitigating “adverse impacts on the climate of technologies used in the crypto-asset market.” Moreover, a recent study shows that the share of nuclear energy in BTC mining has doubled.
