The rising power demand of proof-of-work cryptocurrencies comparable to Bitcoin (BTC) has been a hotly debated subject. However the third International Cryptoasset Benchmarking Research by the College of Cambridge reveals that 76% of cryptocurrency miners use electrical energy from renewable power sources as a part of their power combine.

The study discovered that over 39% of the full power consumed by PoW cryptocurrencies together with Bitcoin, Ether (ETH), Bitcoin Money (BCH) and others comes from renewable power sources. 

That is in distinction to a earlier such study by the college, which discovered that solely 28% of the full power consumed for cryptocurrency mining got here from renewable assets. In 2018, 60% of the miners used renewable power sources as a part of their power combine.

In line with the newest examine, hydroelectric energy is the most typical supply of power for miners. Virtually 62% of miners are reported to be utilizing hydroelectricity. Coal and pure gasoline sources take the second and third spots at 38% and 36%, respectively.

Wind, oil and photo voltaic power are the three different widespread power sources for cryptocurrency miners.

The report additional divides miner power consumption by area, noting that miners from Asia-Pacific, Europe, Latin America and North America use an virtually equal proportion of hydroelectric energy as in comparison with electrical energy from different sources comparable to coal, pure gasoline, wind and oil. 

Vitality from coal is commonest within the APAC area, contributing virtually an equal quantity of electrical energy to miners as hydroelectric sources. No miners from Latin America use coal-fired electrical energy to mine cryptos.

The report additionally notes that APAC miners contribute virtually 77% of the Bitcoin hash energy however use the bottom quantities of renewable power sources. And whereas North America provides solely 8percentof the full hash energy, 63% of the power consumed in mining Bitcoin got here from renewable sources. Europe is simply second to North America with virtually 30% of its cryptocurrency mining powered utilizing renewable power. The continent contributes almost 10% of the worldwide Bitcoin hash energy.