By
Bena Ilyas
April 18th, 2024
The July 1st report of the Bitcoin Mining Council became questionable, as some mining companies have ceased operation in major parts of China, and many companies are banned for supporting crypto-related businesses.
The July 1 report of the Bitcoin Mining Council revealing a 56% growth in sustainable electricity mix has been greeted with criticism. Critics said the findings were finalized based on an unfair scientific methodology.
Following the completion of the study, criticisms started when MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor was quick to point out in a tweet that the latest findings are one of the cleanest in the world.
“Based on the Bitcoin Mining Council survey of the network, mining electricity mix increased to 56% sustainable in Q2 2021, making Bitcoin one of the cleanest industries in the world,” Saylor says in his tweet.
Larry Cermak, the block research analyst, who was the first to call out the report, argued in his response to Saylor’s tweet that the study used a dubious methodology to finalize the 56% figure.
“This is really laughable. No methodology disclosed very dubious results and a super small sample of like 5% of the total hash rate. No one knows what the energy mix will look like until the hash rate from China relocates, and a new proper study is conducted. Why do people trust this?” Cermak says in his response.
He added that the BMC report was unserious, “It’s really a massive joke. How do they expect people who actually care about the energy mix to take it seriously? It will only alienate those people further.”
In another tweet, CoinMetric founder Nick Carter noted that the study was conducted in uncertain conditions, and it makes no sense to pause the analysis just because some hash rate is disabled. He also added in his tweet that the study sample included companies that account for 32% of the hash rate.
Carter identified in his tweet that “This whole exercise is an attempt to piece together a patchwork quilt from disparate sources. Obviously, more data is better than nothing.”
He suggested to the BMC the publication of additional methodological hypotheses for out-of-sample for the proper figure.
The Bitcoin Mining Council started in June following miners’ meeting to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Upon the BMC commencement of operation, it shares energy consumption and hash rates for research and educational purposes.
The July 1st report of the Bitcoin Mining Council became questionable, as some mining companies have ceased operation in major parts of China, and many companies are banned for supporting crypto-related businesses. Additionally, about 70% of Chinese enterprises have already halted operations.