Cryptocurrency Mining
Bitcoin mining consumes ~150 TWh of electricity per year — roughly comparable to Poland or Argentina. After China banned mining in mid-2021, the network rebalanced within months: the US (38%), Russia, Kazakhstan, Canada and Paraguay became the dominant hosting locations. Texas alone hosts ~25% of global hash rate, attracted by cheap power and a permissive regulatory environment.
Key insights
Energy intensity is structural, not incidental
Bitcoin's Proof-of-Work consensus mechanism is intentionally energy-intensive — the security model requires mining hardware to be expensive to operate. Total energy use scales roughly with Bitcoin price (high prices = more mining profitable = more miners join until margins compress). Network energy use grew ~50× from 2017 to 2024. Ethereum's move to Proof-of-Stake in 2022 reduced its energy use 99%+; Bitcoin has not done this and is unlikely to.
China's ban scrambled the geography
Mid-2021, China hosted ~65% of global hash rate. The June 2021 mining ban (motivated by energy targets and crypto-trading restrictions) forced wholesale migration. By late 2021 the US had become the dominant location. Texas, in particular, attracted miners with cheap wind/gas power and ERCOT's interruptible-load market design. Kazakhstan and Russia briefly surged but power grid problems pushed miners elsewhere.
Renewable mining: real but partial
Mining at sites with otherwise-curtailed renewable energy (Texas wind, Paraguay hydro, Iceland geothermal) is genuinely renewable-driven. But much US mining runs on grid power that's significantly fossil-derived. Mining advocates argue miners help renewable economics by providing interruptible demand; critics note the alternative use of that electricity for other purposes is forgone. The 'green mining' debate has not been settled empirically.
Estimated Bitcoin mining electricity use 2017–2024
TWh per year, Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index
Key Finding: Energy use roughly tracks Bitcoin price. The 2022 dip reflected price collapse; recovery has been steady.
Bitcoin hash rate distribution by country (Jan 2024)
% of global hash rate
Key Finding: US dominates post-China-ban; Russia, Kazakhstan, Canada, Paraguay form the next tier.
Methodology & caveats
Estimating energy use
CBECI's methodology starts from network hash rate, calculates the mix of mining hardware in operation (efficiency varies from older ASICs ~50 J/TH to current Antminer S21 ~17 J/TH), estimates idle/active percentages, and infers electricity consumption. Uncertainty bands are ±25% but the central estimate is well-calibrated against independent operator disclosures.
Hash rate distribution caveats
Hash rate geographic distribution is estimated from mining-pool IP traffic — captures where mining pool servers are, not necessarily where miners are physically. VPN use complicates this. The post-China-ban Chinese hash rate is ~0 on this methodology, but anecdotal reports suggest some 'underground' mining continues using VPN-routed connections.
Comparison to other industries
150 TWh is similar to gold mining electricity use (~130 TWh/year) and to global data centers (450 TWh) but more concentrated. As share of world electricity (~28,500 TWh) it's ~0.5%. As share of world CO₂ emissions, it depends on electricity mix where mining occurs — estimates range from 0.1% to 0.4%.