What is the energy consumption of mining cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, and how can utilities best interact with these customers?
In 2009, Bitcoin became the first digital currency based on cryptography—creating what has become broadly known as cryptocurrencies— to provide a medium of currency exchange without a central authority and without backing by a physical commodity or nation-state. There are currently more than 1,300 similar cryptocurrencies using cryptography to secure transactions, control the creation of new currency, and validate the transfer of value. Cryptocurrencies are backed by blockchain technology, which employs cryptography to validate each transaction and create a permanent public record. Bitcoin mining requires large amounts of electricity, but its inherent volatility, decentralized operations, and uncertain future create challenges for electric utilities engaged in long-term resource planning.
KEY POINTS
- Bitcoin mining requires an estimated 1 to 3 GW of continuous electricity demand—representing less than 0.1% of global electricity generation capacity.
- It is difficult to determine the actual electricity use for mining Bitcoin at any given time because there is no central registry of miners. Similarly, it is virtually impossible to accurately predict future growth because the efficiency of mining equipment is changing rapidly, the difficulty of mining varies, and the revenue paid to miners is highly volatile.
- Given that the values of many cryptocurrencies have recently skyrocketed, any reporting that extrapolates current growth rates to project future electricity demand will likely inflate future predictions of consumption.
- The potential boom-bust nature of cryptocurrency mining and the risk of failure for this emerging industry may present a risk to electric utility cost-recovery or lead to stranded assets.
- Amid rapid Bitcoin mining growth in U.S. regions where electricity is inexpensive, local utilities have grappled with accommodating or banning this type of electricity load.
- The blockchain technology that underpins cryptocurrencies could eventually streamline the management of other transactive processes, but it is too soon to determine its ultimate impact.