Bitcoin Miners Set Record Energy Consumption in February

In February, bitcoin miners consumed a record 19.6 GW of electricity, up from 12.1 GW in the same period the previous year, according to Bloomberg.

The agency reports that the recovery in the price of the leading cryptocurrency prompted digital asset mining companies to spend over $1 billion on new equipment since February 2023.

In recent years, Texas has been a popular location for mining due to cheap electricity in the US, but firms from other countries, particularly China, are investing in Ethiopia. The African nation has banned digital asset trading but approved their mining since 2022.

A source from the agency claims that an unnamed cryptocurrency mining company possesses equipment valued between $350 million and $400 million, but it “has nowhere to place it.”

According to The Block, bitcoin transaction volume has soared to a record level since September 2022 as the halving approaches. The seven-day moving average of miners’ revenue shows a figure of $65.4 million, slightly below the record of $67.2 million in May 2021.

In February, the difficulty of mining the leading cryptocurrency increased by 8.24%, reaching a new all-time high of 81.7 T.

Earlier, shares of mining companies plummeted amid the bitcoin rally. An expert noted that such a significant divergence in trends was observed twice in 2023.