Bitcoin Mining Reaches 52.4% Sustainable Energy Use
Bitcoin mining has reached 52.4% sustainable energy use, surpassing Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s threshold, The Block reported.
Bitcoin (BTC) mining’s sustainable energy use has increased to 52.4% from 37.6% in 2022, according to a report by the University of Cambridge.
This figure exceeds the 50% threshold announced by Elon Musk for Tesla to allow Bitcoin payments again. However, Tesla still has not opened the option of paying with BTC for electric vehicle sales.
The published report stated that 9.8% of sustainable energy use comes from nuclear energy and 42.6% comes from renewable sources such as wind and hydroelectricity.
The report also noted that there has been a shift from coal to natural gas as the primary energy source for Bitcoin mining, with natural gas replacing coal as the largest energy source used in BTC mining.
According to the data, natural gas use increased from 25% to 38.2% in 2022, while coal use decreased from 36.6% to 8.9% in the same period.
Will Tesla Accept Bitcoin Payments Again?
In early 2021, Tesla announced that it would accept Bitcoin as payment for its electric vehicles at its US stores and later roll it out globally. However, Musk later announced that Tesla would suspend vehicle purchases with BTC due to concerns about the environmental impact of mining.
Tesla said it will hold on to its BTC holdings and will reopen purchasing with BTC as soon as mining transitions to more sustainable energy sources.
“Tesla will continue to allow Bitcoin transactions if a positive future trend is confirmed by reasonable (around 50%) clean energy usage by miners,” Musk said. However, he still has not opened the Bitcoin payment option.
*This is not investment advice.
