Hash rate and sustainability: How Bitcoin’s rising processing power is a net positive for the environment

At the end of February, the Bitcoin network’s computing power reached its all-time high of 320 EH/s.

The milestone sparked a cross-industry conversation about the implications of such a high hash rate, with many outside of the crypto space fearing its impact on the environment.

And while most Bitcoin critics tend to overuse the term “environmental impact” without giving much depth to what it encompasses, there has always been legitimate concern over Bitcoin’s energy usage.

Bitcoin mining is an energy-intensive process. Bitcoin mining is also a highly competitive and efficient industry, so miners will always seek the cheapest and most abundant energy sources. As the most affordable electricity comes from coal-powered plants, environmental activists are worried that an increase in Bitcoin’s hash rate comes with increased demand for the dirtiest energy sources.

Many of these critics rely on the controversial Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index. The index uses various comparisons to illustrate just how much power Bitcoin consumes, often cherry-picking data and providing outdated information.

The global effort against Bitcoin’s energy consumption culminated last year when Greenpeace published a manifesto proposing a solution to Bitcoin’s proof-of-work algorithm. Called “Change the Code, Not the Climate,” the manifesto calls for Bitcoin to “switch” to a proof-of-stake consensus algorithm like Ethereum.

The governmental push to regulate the crypto industry further fueled protests against Bitcoin. Since the beginning of 2023, various organizations and groups have lobbied for tighter regulation and bans on Bitcoin mining.

In this report, CryptoSlate dives deep into the growth of Bitcoin’s hash rate to see how it’s becoming a net positive for the global fight to reduce pollution.