The still-controversial Bitcoin Mining Council is back at it. For the sixth consecutive quarter, the organization published a report that shows how transparent and accountable the bitcoin mining industry is. They put bitcoin’s numbers to the test against companies, countries, and all industries. The network passes with flying colors in all instances. The Bitcoin Mining Council’s conclusion for Q3 is, “as the Bitcoin Network continues to grow, it will become even more efficient over time.”

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Founded in May 2021, the Bitcoin Mining Council defines itself as “a voluntary global forum of Bitcoin mining companies and other companies in the Bitcoin industry.” 

The Bitcoin Mining Council Shows Receipts

According to the Bitcoin Mining Council’s chief architect, Michael Saylor, “In Q3 2022, Bitcoin mining efficiency increased 23% YoY, and sustainable power mix was 59.4%, above 50% for the 6th quarter in a row. The network was 73% more secure YoY, only using 41% more energy, and is now 99% of all crypto hashing power.”

The Q3 report further expands on those numbers: 

“Based on this data it is estimated that the global bitcoin mining industry’s sustainable electricity mix is now 59.4% or has increased approximately 3% year-on-year, from Q3 2021 to Q3 2022, making it one of the most sustainable industries globally. Additionally, year-on-year it is estimated that the global Bitcoin Network’s technological efficiency grew by 23%, from 17.7 EH per gigawatt (GW) in Q3 2021 to 21.7 EH per GW in Q3 2022.”

That’s right, the sustainable electricity mix keeps growing and bitcoin is just starting. Since the ESG people made bitcoin’s energy consumption an attack vector, the network focused and produced solution after solution to take care of the environment in a real way. In the next few years, the perception of bitcoin mining will change from an indiscriminate energy consumer to the main financier of energy projects worldwide.

Back to the Bitcoin Mining Council Q3 report, they quote Michael Saylor making another excellent point:  

“With a hashrate approaching 267 EH, Bitcoin represents 99% of all crypto power, offering 100 times the security of all the other crypto networks combined.”

The report also quotes Ben Gagnon, Chief Mining Officer of Bitfarms, saying: 

“YoY, Bitcoin security increased by 73% and mining efficiency increased by 23%. The bitcoin network has never been stronger.”

BTC price chart for 10/19/2022 on Bifinex | Source: BTC/USD on TradingView.com

Conclusions About Bitcoin Mining, Q3 2022

The Bitcoin Mining Council was kind enough to share the slides for the Q3 2022 presentation, and in them, we find even more hard data:

• Bitcoin “uses an inconsequential amount of global energy (16bps ) and generates negligible carbon emissions (10bps )” 
• “Bitcoin mining is 5,814% more efficient over the last 8 years. It’s estimated that the global J/TH efficiency is 46.0.”
• “The Bitcoin Mining Council is estimating a 3x and 2x improvement in mining efficiency over the next four and following four years, respectively.”
• This one is guaranteed, “Satoshi’s protocol reduces energy consumption incentives by 2x every 4 years, for the foreseeable future.”
• “Bitcoin mining is guaranteed to be dramatically more energy efficient in the next eight years.”

Plus, to put bitcoin’s security into perspective, the slides contain this nugget: 

“It would take approximately 66 TW to attack the Bitcoin network using standard cloud computing hardware. The equivalent of 3.5x what the entire Earth is currently producing. Bitcoin is currently using 0.16%, making Bitcoin 2,187.5x more efficient.”

The fact of the matter is that yes, bitcoin consumes energy. However, bitcoin puts that energy to good use. It secures the most necessary financial innovation of all time, among other things.

Featured Image: a dam, screenshot from the BMC's report slides | Charts by TradingView