Environmental impact of bitcoin

[6] Chinese miners relied on cheap coal power in Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia during late autumn, winter and spring, migrating to regions with overcapacities in low-cost hydropower (like Sichuan and Yunnan) between May and October.

[14] In 2023, Jamie Coutts, a crypto analyst writing for Bloomberg Terminal said that renewables represented about half of global bitcoin mining sources,[15] while research by the nonprofit tech company WattTime estimated that US miners consumed 54% fossil fuel-generated power.

[21] Two studies from 2023 and 2024 led by Fengqi You concluded that mining bitcoin off-grid during the precommercial phase (when a wind or solar farm is generating electricity but not yet integrated into the grid) could bring additional profits and therefore support renewable energy development and mitigate climate change.

[3][22] Another 2024 study by Fengqi You published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America showed that pairing green hydrogen infrastructure with bitcoin mining can accelerate the deployment of solar and wind power capacities.

[25] Bitcoin has been mined via electricity generated through the combustion of associated petroleum gas (APG), which is a methane-rich byproduct of crude oil drilling that is sometimes flared or released into the atmosphere.

[4] In places where flaring is prohibited this practice has allowed more oil drills to operate by offsetting costs, delaying fossil fuel phase-out.

[4] Commenting on one pilot project with ExxonMobil, political scientist Paasha Mahdavi noted in 2022 that this process could potentially allow oil companies to report lower emissions by selling gas leaks, shifting responsibility to buyers and avoiding a real reduction commitment.

[2] Due to the consistent increase of the bitcoin network's hashrate, one 2021 study estimated that mining devices had an average lifespan of 1.3 years until they became unprofitable and had to be replaced, resulting in significant electronic waste.

[2] A 2024 systematic review criticized this estimate and argued, based on market sales and IPO data, that bitcoin mining hardware lifespan was closer to 4–5 years.

[33][34] In September 2022, the US Office of Science and Technology Policy highlighted the need for increased transparency about electricity usage, greenhouse gas emissions, and e-waste.

[39] In October 2022, due to the global energy crisis, the European Commission invited member states to lower the electricity consumption of crypto-asset miners and end tax breaks and other incentives benefiting them.