Cambridge Digital Mining Industry Report: Global Operations, Sentiment, and Energy Use (Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance)

Summary

• Annual electricity usage of Bitcoin mining activity is estimated at approximately 138 TWh, resulting in around 39.8 MtCO2e of attributable GHG emissions.p.8
• The U.S. has solidified its position as the largest global mining hub with 75.4% of reported activity.p.8
• Sustainable energy sources represent the majority of the electricity mix (52.4%), while natural gas is the single largest source (38.2%).p.8
• Industry-wide ASIC hardware efficiency is estimated at 28.2 J/TH, a 24% year-over-year improvement.p.9
• Electricity consumption of 138 TWh represents a year-over-year increase of 17% and approximately 0.54% of global electricity consumption.p.9
• Miners report a median electricity cost of $45/MWh and an all-in cost of $55.5/MWh, with electricity more than 80% of cash-based operational expenses.p.9
• The survey drew 49 participants plus 20 others.p.7

Key insights

1. Renewables account for 42.6% of the electricity mix, with hydropower the largest sustainable source at 23.4%, followed by wind (15.4%), nuclear (9.8%) and solar (3.2%).p.9
2. Fossil fuels make up 47.6% of the mix, primarily natural gas (38.2%), followed by coal (8.9%).p.9
3. Bitcoin mining GHG emissions represent about 0.08% of global annual GHG emissions.p.9
4. By the end of 2024, 11.1% of the current hashrate (61.8 EH/s) is projected to be phased out.p.9
5. Miners express at least high concerns about long-term energy price increases (57%), unfavourable governmental action (47%) and adverse BTC price developments (40%).p.10
6. Miners named business diversification (64%), power hedging (60%) and geographical diversification (55%) as key risk management strategies.p.10
7. This is the thirteenth CCAF report focused on the digital assets ecosystem and blockchain technology.p.4