In our latest work on the global
landscape, we provided contemporary data on the operational intricacies, market dynamics, and environmental impact shaping the industry, drawing on primary data from 49 digital mining firms (41% publicly listed, 59% privately held), with headquarters in 16 jurisdictions and operations spanning 23 different countries, and capturing nearly half (48%, or 268 EH/s) of the
network
!
You can watch my brilliant co-author
Alexander Neumüller
present our findings at
The Bitcoin Conference
:
https://lnkd.in/eBWGTzCq
and read the full report here:
https://lnkd.in/e7-FxMya
Our extensive dataset allows us to shed light on crucial questions. Key insights include:
⚡️ Rising Electricity Consumption: Est. annual consumption grew 17% YoY to 138 TWh (~0.54% of global electricity use).
🌱 Notable Move Towards
Energy: Surveyed energy mix now primarily sustainable (52.4% vs 37.6% in ‘22), with natural gas (38.2% vs. 25.0% in ‘22) replacing coal (8.9% vs. 36.6% in ‘22) as the largest single energy source.
💨
Considerations: Est. annual emissions at ~39.8 MtCO₂e (~0.08% global emissions), but potentially ranging lower at 32.9 to 37.6 MtCO₂e if accounting for mitigating effects.
🗺️ A Shifting Geography: USA leads surveyed hashrate followed by Canada, but growth observed in South America and the Middle East, alongside continued activity in Northern Europe.
💻 Hardware Insights: Fleet efficiency improves 24% YoY to ~28 J/TH, ASIC market appears highly oligopolistic (dominant Bitmain 82%), but firmware market more fragmented. E-waste (~2.3 kt/yr) potentially lower than often portrayed due to reuse/recycling.
🧭 Miner
: Energy prices & regulation top concerns, driving diversification (geo/business) & power hedging as key risk strategies. Deployment capacity & logistics identified as main growth barriers.
🚀 Future Outlook: Economic pressures likely to accelerate diversification into
/
(for stable revenue) and adoption of innovative
strategies (flare gas use, DSR, waste heat) for efficiency & grid integration.
This report provides essential, data-driven benchmarks and insights for policymakers, industry leaders, investors, researchers, and anyone seeking to understand the complexities of the ecosystem.
This is joint work with the absolutely amazing
Alexander Neumüller
(lead author) and co-authors:
Gina Pieters, PhD
;
Valentin Rousseau
, and
Bryan Zhang
at
Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance, Cambridge Judge Business School
.
University of Cambridge
Lab |
Cambridge Judge Business School
|
King's College, Cambridge
|
CRASSH
|
Gates Cambridge
#DigitalMining #Bitcoin #hashrate #Sustainable #Environmental #Strategy #AI #HPC #energy #DigitalAssets #Blockchain #CCAF #Cambridge #climaTRACES
