Unexpected use of coin miner
More and more people are using the heat from cryptocurrency miners to keep warm in the winter or grow plants in a greenhouse.
Bitcoin mining consumes huge amounts of energy. According to the Digiconomist Energy Consumption Index, the Bitcoin mining sector is consuming 91 terawatts of electricity annually, more than Finland's total electricity use in a year. Of course, the mining process also generates a large amount of heat that is released into the atmosphere.
To optimize costs, mining centers take advantage of the heat generated from mining rigs. Among them, growing plants in a greenhouse and heating in the middle of winter are the two most widely used activities.
Take advantage of heat
A farm called Le Caveau à Légumes (Canada) says it can grow strawberries in the middle of winter thanks to the heat from cryptocurrency mining rigs. By cleverly conducting heat, this small farm's off-season crops are able to survive extreme weather and become a rare commodity in the area.
“Winter is really cold and we need heat. If you use electricity to heat the strawberry plants, the farm won't be able to pay the costs," Melissa Girard, a farmer, told Coindesk.
Le Caveau à Légumes farm is based on technology created by the startup Heatmine, based in Quebec (Canada). Heatmine hopes to generate “free heat,” as the profits generated from cryptocurrency mining can cover around 75-100% of the cost of production.
In fact, this farm is just one of the businesses and business households that take advantage of the heat from the mining rig to optimize costs and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Meanwhile, coin mining still helps them have a good source of income.
Kevin Carthy, the founder of WinnipegBTC, said to have reduced his carbon footprint while getting into the Bitcoin mining sector by leveraging heat. In 2013, Carthy used to conduct heat into her office and even her car to keep warm in the middle of winter.
“The weather in Canada is very cold. However, electricity is quite cheap because our country has a lot of hydroelectricity. You still make a good profit, besides taking advantage of the heat from the miners,” Carthy told local TV channel CTV News.
In addition, Carthy says Canada's cheap energy and cold weather make it an ideal location for "heat mining". This man estimates his cost in 2018 to operate a Bitcoin mining machine at 70 USD/month, while the revenue can reach 100 USD/month.
Reduce emissions, optimize costs
For transactions, the Bitcoin network requires miners to solve many complex blocks. In addition, the PoW (Proof of Work) mechanism is causing miners to spend more energy than verifying transactions on centralized networks, according to Forbes.
An estimated 39% of current Bitcoin mining uses renewable energy. However, there are still many challenges due to insufficient or unstable power supply. Currently, the immediate solution of many mining centers is to take advantage of the heat from the miner for business. This helps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions as well as generate additional revenue.
The huge power demand of Bitcoin mining centers has led many companies to think of new ways to maximize profits. Photo: CryptoSlate.
Taking advantage of the heat generated from Bitcoin mining could be a solution to global warming. Specifically, the heat generated from Bitcoin mining can also help combat the ongoing energy crisis, especially during winters with increased heating needs.
However, according to a study by the Bank of the Netherlands and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), getting rid of one Bitcoin miner can create as much e-waste as throwing away two iPhones. This is because the equipment used to mine Bitcoin has a very short lifespan, around 1.29 years.
Currently, the global Bitcoin mining network discards about 307,000 tons of equipment a year, which is equivalent to the Dutch annual e-waste in a year.
The positive thing is that the supply of Bitcoins is limited, so mining will stop when they are fully mined. Besides, Ethereum's transition to PoS (Proof of Stake) mechanism also reduces the number of miners, which has special significance for the environment.
Bitcoin continues to plunge, decentralized finance takes over, and increasingly tight regulation could become a reality next year.
Looking back at 2021, Bitcoin had a pretty good year. The digital currency is up nearly 70% since the start of the year, pulling the entire market cap to $2 trillion. This year saw Coinbase - the first major crypto company IPO. Wall Street banks like Goldman Sachs became more involved in the crypto market and the first Bitcoin ETF was born.
However, increasingly strict regulatory regulations and intense price volatility have dampened the outlook for Bitcoin recently. Experts warn the market may be heading for a recession. According to experts compiled by CNBC, the cryptocurrency market in 2022 can continue like a "roller coaster". Here are the four most prominent predictions.
Bitcoin continues to plunge, decentralized finance takes over, and increasingly tight regulation could become a reality next year.
Looking back at 2021, Bitcoin had a pretty good year. The digital currency is up nearly 70% since the start of the year, pulling the entire market cap to $2 trillion. This year saw Coinbase - the first major crypto company IPO. Wall Street banks like Goldman Sachs became more involved in the crypto market and the first Bitcoin ETF was born.
However, increasingly strict regulatory regulations and intense price volatility have dampened the outlook for Bitcoin recently. Experts warn the market may be heading for a recession. According to experts compiled by CNBC, the cryptocurrency market in 2022 can continue like a "roller coaster". Here are the four most prominent predictions.