During the initial months of 2024, Bitcoin miners in the United States incurred a substantial expense of $2.7 billion solely on electricity. As per Paul Hoffman, an analyst at Best Brokers, the cumulative electric power utilized for Bitcoin mining in the U.S. amounted to 20,822.62 gigawatt hours (GWh) since the commencement of 2024.
Energy consumption translated to an expenditure of $2,667,378,196.47, calculated at the prevailing average commercial electricity rate of $0.1281 per kilowatt hour (kWh) as of February.
Hoffman elaborated on the significance of the energy amount by stating, “This quantity of energy has the potential to charge every electric vehicle in the U.S. 87.52 times or provide power to 1,983,107 households for a year, which equates to 1.51% of all U.S. households.”
Globally, 116,550 Bitcoin, worth $8.2 billion, has been mined year to date, with U.S. miners accounting for 44,102 BTC or 37.84% of global production. Before the halving event in April, the electricity needed to mine 1 BTC was 407,059.01 kilowatt-hour (kWh), costing around $52,144.26.
Since that time, a total of 862,635.55 kilowatt-hours of power has been consumed for the mining of 1 BTC, incurring a cost of approximately $110,503.61 based on average commercial electricity rates.
Despite the significant energy consumption associated with Bitcoin mining, it is noteworthy that this industry is at the forefront of utilizing sustainable energy sources on a global scale.
According to The Bitcoin ESG Forecast released in January, sustainable energy use in Bitcoin mining has surged to a record high of 54.5%, marking a 3.6% increase in sustainable mining practices throughout 2023.
Following the ban on mining in China and the effective prohibition in Kazakhstan, many miners have shifted their operations to utilize more environmentally friendly grids in North America or sustainable off-grid locations.As of the present time, approximately 19.5 million Bitcoins have been mined, which is close to the total supply of 21 million. This means that the number of available Bitcoins is approaching its maximum limit, with only a small percentage remaining to be mined.