The Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance altered the prior model that projected “Bitcoin energy consumption” released in 2019 after discovering highly overestimated power usage numbers.
The latest study has sparked New statistical improvements, “Bitcoin electricity consumption: an improved assessment,” published on August 31, 2023.
The new analysis is based on data-driven facts, where they have launched the Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index(CBECI) in the public interest on their demand.
As per Cambridge Center for Alternative Finance, let’s dive into the article to see the real-time data-based insights on minimized energy usage for Bitcoin mining.
Alexander Neumueller, Leading Climate Researcher of the Climate Digital Assets Programme and Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance, shared a detailed examination report altering the previously introduced data on Bitcoin Energy Consumption Index on August 31, 2023.
In the previous model, Bitcoin’s energy consumption data in 2021 was around 104 TWh, but the revised data implied it to be 89.0 TWh.
Similarly, in 2022, the initial estimate was 105.3 TWh, which, when revised, came down to 95.5 TWh.
And now, after analyzing several factors by Cambridge University, the estimated figure for Bitcoin’s energy consumption stands at 70.4 TWh.
Their initial database release was based on a techno-economic concept that provided information on the electricity used by Bitcoin mining operations worldwide.
They slowly added other features like total electricity use and periodic power demand. Although electricity use is important for comprehending Bitcoin’s environmental impact, it is only one factor.
They wanted to know how electricity is produced to get a more thorough knowledge, so they needed data on where Bitcoin mining occurs.
To bridge this gap in understanding, we upgraded the Index in May 2020 and added a brand-new feature called the Mining Map.
This tool offers additional information into the hash rate’s historical territorial distribution(region to region) or the amount of processing power supplied to the network.
The tool then became the foundation of their methodology for determining the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions linked to Bitcoin (launched in September 2022), where they drew on data from their prior research to present more comprehensive data on Bitcoin’s environmental impact.
The prior approach used by the University implied that every unit of “profitable” hardware installed over the last five years added equitably to the network’s hash rate.
However, the method began showing limitations after China restricted mining in 2021. In this report, along with the required data amendments, they paid keen attention to the ASIC mining hardware and how it impacted the world.
They assumed that the change in data figures from their initial report to the latest one was also due to replacing old mining hardware with specialized hardware.
The study underlined their trust in this revised research on the Bitcoin Power Consumption Index, considering every modification as an effort towards enhancing reliability.
They are dedicated to showing how this change has affected earlier estimations because transparency persists upon the University’s foundation.
Cambridge stressed that its index provides a rough representation of Bitcoin’s real electricity consumption due to the distributed structure of the network.
Also, the revised statistics on the minimized energy usage in Bitcoin highlight the drastic shift towards green mining, which is commendable.
The latest news states that the Bitcoin energy consumption index as of 2023 is 70.4 TWh, which is a great number by keeping the perseverance of electrical energy in light.
As per Cambridge’s improved assessment, the latest mining hardware machines, like Application-specific integrated circuits(ASICs), seem to change the data reports of the BTC energy consumption index. The new mining hardware is built with advanced features that minimize electricity usage, making a difference in data from 2019 to 2023.
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