Bitcoin is still well-positioned for a sustained recovery, and the bitcoin mining sector saw a 50% increase in revenue expressed in US dollars.
The connected mining ecosystems’ year-long battle for survival is beginning to pay off as Bitcoin displays a tiny bull run. In January 2023, mining rewards and transaction fees brought in a 50% increase for the Bitcoin mining community.
In December last year, Bitcoin mining revenue decreased for the first time since October 2020, falling to $13.6 million. Along with growing energy costs and geopolitical unrest, this puts an enormous financial strain on mining enterprises, pushing some of them to close.
The mining industry recorded a 50% gain in revenue in U.S. dollars, as shown in the graphic below, as Bitcoin remains well-positioned for a sustainable rebound.
Revenue from bitcoin mining increased from $15.3 million on January 1 to around $23 million in just 30 days.
As more miners join to power and safeguard the decentralised Bitcoin network, the hash rate keeps breaking records. At the time this article was written, the Bitcoin hash rate was somewhere about 300 exahashes per second.
The high energy usage of the proof-of-work consensus process is still one of the key criticisms of Bitcoin. Energy consumption for Bitcoin rose 41% from the previous year.
However, efforts are being made to power Bitcoin mining operations with cleaner energy in an effort to resolve the issue. A mining company has recently discovered a supply of abandoned electricity in Malawi, a landlocked country in southeast Africa.
50 kilowatts of stranded energy are used in the Gridless project to test out the site as a potential new Bitcoin mining location.
The Bitcoin mining plant also has a small environmental impact because it only uses river-based energy.
Also read: Bitcoin Mining Could Help Us Achieve Energy Independence – Texas Representative
Energy professionals want to ban Bitcoin mining in Russian homes
The manufacturing of digital currency is prohibited in residential areas, according to the Energy Committee of the State Council, which advises the Russian president. Local media reports that its members are satisfied that the strategy will reduce the risk of fire.
The intention is to completely forbid bitcoin mining in residential structures like houses and apartment buildings, or at the very least in areas of Russia where there is a severe energy deficit. Moscow and the Moscow Oblast, the area around the Russian capital, are two of them.
Even though these operations are not yet regulated, many regular Russians make extra money through cryptocurrency-related activities, particularly in regions with affordable energy. The Russian parliament’s lower house, the State Duma, is now discussing a law with that goal in mind.
The information was revealed in a report by the newspaper Izvestia, which cited committee meeting minutes from a meeting held in mid-December and the energy experts’ recommendations that the federal government grant regional authorities the authority to impose additional taxes on cryptocurrency mining.
According to Anton Tkachev, a member of the Russian State Duma Committee on Information Policy, Technological Innovations, and Communications, efforts to restrict mining in residential areas and energy-scarce regions make sense because industrial mining farms already consume a sizeable amount of energy.
He also emphasised the urgency of the energy security issue, particularly for small communities that lack the financial means to maintain and repair their energy infrastructure. “There is also a danger that the mining equipment will spark fires in residential dwellings,” the member stated.
According to Russian energy companies, distribution networks in residential areas are not designed to handle overloads caused by coin production in households, as noted by the Russian Ministry of Energy. The legal regulation of cryptocurrency mining is endorsed by the Russian Ministry of Energy.
Irkutsk Oblast, Russia, has become the hub for home mining as residents take advantage of some of the nation’s lowest electricity rates, which are subsidised for the general public, by setting up crypto farms in basements and garages. There were apparently 23 fires in the region in the first half of 2022 that led to the discovery of mining equipment.
Also read: How Can I Purchase Food Using Bitcoin?
