After a challenging bear market in 2022, the Bitcoin mining sector experienced a notable resurgence. However, the significant energy consumption and associated costs of mining operations have sparked concerns among various governments. While some regulators are actively seeking ways to enhance the efficiency of mining processes, others are grappling with rising production expenses linked to each mined Bitcoin.
A recent report from CoinGecko shed light on the issue, revealing that Europe occupies nine out of the ten lowest-ranking countries in terms of favorable economic conditions for Bitcoin mining, particularly considering household electricity expenses. The report highlights that the average cost of electricity for mining one Bitcoin is $46,291.24, which surpasses the average daily price of 1 BTC in July 2023 ($30,090.08) by 35%.
The study also pointed out that only 65 nations out of the total yield profitability for individual Bitcoin miners when factoring in household electricity costs. Interestingly, 34 of these profitable countries are located in Asia, while Europe accounts for just five.
Notably, Italy emerged as the most expensive nation for household Bitcoin mining, with a staggering cost of $208,560 to mine one Bitcoin. On the other hand, Lebanon stood out, offering an incredibly affordable cost of $266 to mine one BTC using household electricity. This extreme difference highlights that Lebanon’s expenses for Bitcoin mining are roughly 783 times lower than those incurred in Italy.
The report also highlighted the United States, which falls within a mid-range position. This suggests that the cost of mining the primary cryptocurrency is neither excessively high nor remarkably cheap in the country. On average, household Bitcoin mining in the United States is around $46.28K per Bitcoin. While cryptocurrency miners in the US are making progress, forming the Digital Energy Council to support favorable crypto policies amid changing regulations.
Apart from individual Bitcoin miners, countries like Kyrgyzstan and Oman are massively making investments in Bitcoin mining. Earlier, it was found that Kyrgyzstan ventured into the crypto-mining industry with a $20 million investment in a mining facility. Recently, Oman made a total investment of around $740 million in the realm of crypto mining.
Quantum Blockchain Technologies (QBT), a UK firm, gained a breakthrough with Message Scheduling for Cryptographic Hashing (MSFCA), boosting Bitcoin mining efficiency. QBT’s CEO, Francesco Gardin, sees this as a game-changer, allowing miners to work on future blocks before finishing the current one. QBT’s team of 20 specialists developed patented techniques, like “Method A,” increasing efficiency by 10%, and “Method B,” raising successful hash discovery chances by 260%. These innovations could potentially revolutionize Bitcoin mining.