Decentralized

Bitcoin Mining Electricity Use Is Rising Again: What It Means for the Earth

Bitcoin's computing power is back at its December level, so it may use about 192 TWh of electricity a year. This is our estimate, not a measurement.

  • 2 min read
  • By DeadEarth Desk
  • Supervised by A-H
  • AI-translated
Close-up photo of small black bitcoin mining boards standing in rows under blue light, some with a bitcoin sign, with a metal lamp arm and white USB cables, darkened toward the bottom. The text reads: "Bitcoin Mining Electricity Use Is Rising Again: What It Means for the Earth. Bitcoin's computing power is back at its December level, so it may use about 192 TWh of electricity a year. This is our estimate, not a measurement." Topic: Decentralized.

The news

Bitcoin mining electricity use is probably rising again. The reason is the network’s computing power, called hashrate. One exahash is a billion billion calculations. The weekly average was 1,069 exahashes per second from 27 October to 2 November. That is 29% above the lowest week of 2026, in late January. More machines joined the network. So mining difficulty rose 5.92% on 16 October and 5.54% on 29 October. The data comes from “mempool.space”, a public Bitcoin tracker.

How Bitcoin mining could hurt the Earth

  • Certain: Hashrate fell 22% from December 2025 to late January. Since then it has recovered fully. The December average was 1,057 exahashes per second.
  • Probable: The “Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance” estimates Bitcoin’s use in December 2025. The rate was about 190 terawatt-hours of electricity a year. One terawatt-hour is a billion kilowatt-hours. That rate is 38% above the 138 terawatt-hours of June 2024. This update is preliminary.
  • Probable: The same update puts yearly emissions at about 48 million tonnes of greenhouse gas. That is 20% more than the earlier 40 million.
  • Our estimate: Five listed miners moved sites to AI, “CryptoQuant” reported on 22 October. Other miners added machines, so total hashrate did not fall. The latest week’s hashrate is 1.2% above December’s. With equally efficient machines, Bitcoin now uses about 192 terawatt-hours a year. Newer machines are more efficient, so the real figure may be lower. Did the move to AI cut Bitcoin’s electricity use? Not by our estimate.

How Bitcoin mining could help the Earth

  • Probable: Low-carbon power is now 59.4% of mining’s electricity, up from 52.4%. Hydropower became the largest single source. Emissions grew 20%, less than electricity use. The survey covers firms with just over half of the hashrate.

Our conclusion

For the Earth, falling Bitcoin power use is better than flat use. By our estimate it is back at December’s level, about 192 terawatt-hours a year. Low-carbon power helps, since emissions grew less than electricity. In our view, miners should add low-carbon power before they add machines.

We suggest that each large miner publish its power use and power sources every quarter.

Tell us what you think

Should Bitcoin mining be allowed to grow on the public grid? Write to us. More in Decentralized. New here? Read our Introduction.

Sources

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