Bitcoin miners turn to nuclear power for sustainable energy

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Major players in the Bitcoin (BTC) mining industry are targeting nuclear power as pressure mounts to go green.

Nuclear power could present a “tremendous opportunity” to introduce “huge amounts of clean, carbon-free energy” into the base load, GRIID Vice President Harry Sudok said during the “Bitcoin & Beyond Virtual Summit ”on November 10. GRIDD is an American company that purchases low-cost renewable energy to build vertically integrated Bitcoin mining facilities.

According to Sudock, past subsidy programs and the renewable energy discourse have largely focused on solar and wind power and neglected to consider the potential benefits of nuclear power.

“The growth rate is largely solar and wind driven right now, and that’s just the reality of the programs that have been rolled out over the past 8-10 years. But what we would like to see is an expansion of nuclear, ”he said.

Blockstream’s chief strategy officer, Samson Mow, was a panelist alongside Sudock to discuss the complexities of Bitcoin mining and energy spending.

Mow referred to the dominant role that “FUD” tends to have in discussions of Bitcoin mining, which he says can lead to misunderstandings not only about Bitcoin mining, but production as well. energy in general.

These misunderstandings “lead to these kind of crazy headlines that Bitcoin is going to boil the oceans,” he said.

“The big picture is very often missed because Bitcoin mining accounts for a small percentage of the world’s energy consumption, like a fraction of a percent,” Mow said. “If we are dirty then everything is very dirty, isn’t it?”

Mow is also a supporter of nuclear power for Bitcoin mining. “The problem is that we have regressed as a society where we have sort of rejected nuclear power and gone for other things like wind and solar which are more expensive, harder to generate and don’t work. not always, ”Mow said.

Related: Climate Chain Coalition Advocates For Creating A Green Economy At COP26

Last month, the Bitcoin Mining Council (BMC) polled around 33% of the current global Bitcoin network. BMC estimates that the sustainable power mix of the global mining industry increased from around 3% to 55.9% in the third quarter of this year.

“Bitcoin miners will use the cheapest form of electricity they can find,” Amanda Fabiano said at the summit. Fabiano is the head of mining for digital asset management company Galaxy Digital and a founding member of BMC.

“I think sustainability capital will find a very good place in Bitcoin mining.”

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