The recent halving of the Bitcoin block reward has doubled the electricity required to mine one Bitcoin, as the reward dropped from 6.25 to 3.125 BTC, while the network difficulty has remained pretty much the same. This has made mining 1 BTC two times more difficult and energy-intensive, further straining the United States’ already vulnerable power grid, especially as it remains the world's leading Bitcoin-mining country.
With this in mind, the team at BestBrokers combined historical Blockchain hashrate data from BitInfoCharts with the most recent data on the geographic distribution of the Bitcoin network’s computing power from the Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index. This, together with the average efficiency of the current Bitcoin mining hardware, allowed us to calculate the total amount of electric energy used to mine bitcoin in the U.S. in 2024. We also calculated what that would have cost if the electricity were purchased from the grid suppliers at the average business rate (most recent 2024 data from EIA).
Key takeaways from the report:
· Since the start of 2024, Bitcoin mining in the U.S. has consumed an enormous 20,822.62 GWh of electric power. At the average commercial electricity rate of $0.1281 per kWh as of February, this amounts to an expenditure of $2,667,378,196.47.
· According to our calculations, this amount of energy could charge every electric vehicle in the U.S. 87.52 times or power 1,983,107 households for a year, which is 1.51% of all U.S. households.
· Globally, a total of 116,550 bitcoins have been mined in 2024 so far. U.S.-based mining facilities are responsible for 44,102.52 of these bitcoins or 37.84% share of the global production.
· Georgia, Texas, California, Kentucky and New York lead Bitcoin mining among the U.S. states, with the first three being particularly susceptible to power outages in 2024.
· Before the Bitcoin halving event on April 20, 2024, 340.56 bitcoins were mined daily in the U.S., requiring an average daily power consumption of 138.63 GWh and costing $17,758,249.08 at the average commercial rate; the electricity needed to mine 1 BTC averaged 407,059.01 kWh, costing $52,144.26.
· After the halving, daily bitcoin production dropped to 170.28 bitcoins, with an average daily power consumption increasing to 146.89 GWh, resulting in daily electricity costs of $18,816,555.37; the electricity required to mine 1 Bitcoin doubled to an average of 862,635.55 kWh, with the cost rising to $110,503.61
Here is a detailed breakdown of the daily cost of mining Bitcoin in the U.S. in 2024 so far:
This has been the daily cost of mining 1 BTC in the U.S. in 2024. We can see clearly how it doubles after the halving in April.
List of the 20 countries, spending the most electric power to mine Bitcoin: