Bitcoin Miners: The Evolution and Challenges of the Industry
In data cited by Bloomberg Intelligence, it was reported that public miners now make up 28% of the global Bitcoin hash rate.
Analyst Jamie Coates sees this as an evolution for the industry, presenting new opportunities and challenges for the grid, including rising prices in the West and the potential to increase the burden on fragile power grids in affordable countries.
Small-scale miners are still very important
At the same time, Coates sees small-scale miners still playing a crucial role in ensuring the cryptocurrency industry remains decentralized and less fragile.
Unfortunately, on the other hand, in many countries, mining is considered prohibited or economically unviable. As a result, Western countries, including Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States, have become unaffordable despite leading the energy transition.
In contrast, the Bloomberg analyst points out that even if electricity prices are affordable, machines still face the risk of overloading fragile power grids and managing political instability.
He points out that the most surprising information in the report is that the promise of cheap energy from renewable energy sources has not been fulfilled in the West.
As the number of renewable energy sources is added, prices continue to rise. For example, in Australia, 32% of energy is sourced from renewable energy sources, and the discrepancy between energy prices and the CPI continues to widen.
Diversity of landscapes between countries
These findings emerged just a few days after Bitcoin mining machines were seized in a Venezuelan prison after operations were suspended in March as part of an alleged corruption scheme involving cryptocurrency wallets.
On the other hand, looking to the West, in Canada, the Supreme Court of British Columbia has granted approval to the merger of Canadian Bitcoin mining company Hut 8 and the US company Bitcoin Corp in an effort that will reshape the Bitcoin mining and high-performance computing industry.