By Susie Violet Ward · Forbes · 18 October 2023
With bitcoin’s hash rate at record highs in 2023, the article looks at how miners were trying to stay profitable. Energy cost was the main factor, and it cites a KPMG report finding that mining can help stabilise power grids, use underused renewable energy and reduce methane emissions by turning waste gas into electricity. Daniel Batten of CH4 Capital was working on such projects, and environmental physicist Margot Paez argued that miners formed part of the energy infrastructure.
James Giannantonio and Chester Ney of ALL4 pointed to Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory estimates that up to two-thirds of US energy was rejected or used inefficiently. The article also covers access to efficient hardware, the use of waste heat and climate risks such as water shortages in Texas, with Elliot David of Sustainable Bitcoin Protocol calling physical environmental risk “a ticking time bomb for miners.”