Bitcoin Mining Council Q2 Report Claims 56% Renewable Energy, Accused of Fabricating Data to Cater to Tesla's Demands

According to a report by the Bitcoin Mining Council (BMC), global Bitcoin mining in the second quarter had a green energy ratio of 56%. However, the lack of transparency in the data has drawn criticism, and it appears more like a marketing campaign to cater to Tesla's decision to resume accepting Bitcoin as a standard. It is not difficult to imagine that behind Bitcoin, which was originally intended to be decentralized, there are significant stakeholders with vested interests.

Bitcoin Mining Council

The Bitcoin Mining Council (BMC) was established in response to Elon Musk's criticism of mining's energy consumption and Tesla's suspension of Bitcoin payments.

Participants in this organization include ArgoBlockchain, Blockcap, Core Scientific, Galaxy Digital, HiveBlockchain, Hut 8 Mining, Marathon Digital Holdings, and Riot Blockchain, aiming to promote transparency and sustainability in mining energy globally.

56% Renewable Energy

In its Q2 2021 presentation released on 7/1, BMC stated that Bitcoin mining's energy consumption is almost negligible, with energy usage becoming more efficient and capable of driving sustainable energy adoption more than any country or industry.

Following the standards outlined in the International Energy Agency (IEA) Net Zero by 2050 report, BMC defines sustainable power as hydro, wind, solar, nuclear, geothermal, and carbon-based sources with carbon credits.

The report indicates that 67% of surveyed miners' energy mix comes from renewable sources, with global mining's green energy share reaching 56%.

However, the data cited by BMC is described as based on the organization's "analysis, assumptions, and inferences" at the bottom of the image in the original document.

The report concludes by stating that this data is derived from a survey of only 32% of the network's miners, with questions including those outlined in the image below:

• What is the percentage of green energy?
• What is today's total hash rate?
• What is today's overall power consumption for mining facilities?

Larry Cermak: Quite Amusing

Shortly after the report's release this morning, Larry Cermak, Research Director at The Block, expressed his skepticism in response to a tweet from MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor.

"This is quite amusing. No transparency on how the data was gathered, just very suspect results and an extremely small sample, roughly 5% of the total hash rate. Until Chinese hash power flows out and is studied in a proper way, no one knows what the energy mix will be. Why would anyone believe this?"

Coin Metrics co-founder Nic Carter explained that the entire meeting had not concluded, and verification could be sought from BMC. Larry further emphasized:

It could take several months for Chinese miners to flow out and rebuild mining farms, with half of the hash rate offline. How can conclusions be drawn from this?"

In mid-June, Musk refuted allegations of market manipulation and large Bitcoin sell-offs and set conditions for Tesla to resume Bitcoin payments: "50% of energy used for mining is renewable."

Coincidentally, BMC's inaugural energy consumption report showed that 50% of energy used for mining was renewable. While some in the crypto community view this optimistically, others criticize BMC for fabricating data, and some point out that Bitcoin's incentive mechanism inherently drives the adoption of green energy, rendering unnecessary the oversight of any additional committees.