Bitcoin price and energy use for mining highly correlated: UN report
Update: This article has been updated to highlight that the UN report referenced the Mora et al. 2018 paper, which overestimated the emissions of mining operations by including unprofitable mining rigs in their analysis.
A recent study conducted by the United Nations suggests a direct correlation between the price of Bitcoin (BTC) and the energy needed for mining operations.
UN scientists evaluated the activities of 76 Bitcoin mining nations during the 2020–2021 period and found that the global Bitcoin mining network consumed 173.42 terawatt-hours of electricity. During this timeframe, the crypto ecosystem was undergoing a bull run, and Bitcoin rallied to mark its all-time high of $69,000. The UN report highlighted:
At the time, fossil energy sources accounted for 67% of the electricity generated for Bitcoin mining. However, crypto entrepreneurs have taken proactive measures to increase their dependence on green energy.
Hydropower satisfied over 16% of the total electricity demand of the global Bitcoin mining network; nuclear, solar and wind energy sources provided 9%, 2% and 5%, respectively.
However, members of the crypto community called out the UN report for referencing the Mora et al. 2018 paper, which had overestimated the carbon emission levels of Bitcoin mining rigs by including unprofitable mining rigs in their analysis.
One of the crazy things about the UN paper is that the authors did read the rebuttals to the Mora et al paper because they cite the Houy 2019 paper, but only to note that BTC price is a factor in determining BTC mining profitability. The UN authors completely ignored the opening…
Nic Carter criticized the UN report for citing "completely fake academia in their papers (mora et al 2018)".
According to
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