A new study has found the United States is securing its position as a bitcoin mining superpower — and the report has analysts optimistic about the industry's potential.
As BeInCrypto detailed, the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance conducted a survey that revealed the U.S. accounts for 75.4% of reported bitcoin mining activity, racing ahead of the competition, with Canada recording the next-closest hashrate at 7.1%.
The survey, which occurred between June and September 2024, does come with a crucial caveat: Most of the respondents were from the U.S., so the reported hashrate may not paint a complete picture regarding the distribution of bitcoin mining worldwide. Hashrate Index shows the U.S. having a much smaller top market share at roughly 36%.
Nonetheless, there is reason to believe that bitcoin mining activity in the U.S. will continue to grow. At the end of March, the Trump Administration announced its "Investment Accelerator" initiative aimed at modernizing processes to attract domestic and foreign investments.
Department of Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has embraced bitcoin mining as a key part of that strategy. For one, the decentralized nature of digital currency can result in faster and cheaper secure transactions — which would support the Investment Accelerator's goal of streamlining processes to reduce regulatory burdens.
"We're going to make it so that if you want to mine bitcoin and you find the right place to do it, you can build your own power plant next to it. You don't necessarily have to be on the grid," Lutnick said in an interview with Bitcoin Magazine.
"... What you'll see is the next generation of miners in America will be able to control their destiny, control the cost of power, and I think that is going to turbocharge bitcoin mining."
Lutnick suggested miners could put their data centers on gas fields in order to avoid the common cryptocurrency mining pitfall of grid strain and higher utility costs, a particular concern for proof-of-work systems like those used by bitcoin.
BeInCrypto spotlighted bitcoin mining company CleanSpark's plans to build a Tennessee facility as an example of a company readying itself "to capitalize on the favorable conditions." However, the project has been subject to intense backlash from Mountain City residents, who fear the mine would diminish their quality of life — as other communities have also argued.
"The economic benefits they might promise pale in comparison to the environmental cost and the loss of the peaceful, rural atmosphere we cherish," wrote Zach Jensen, who organized a petition opposing the project via Change.org.
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Do you worry about air pollution in and around your home? Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. |
Yes — always 💯 In addition to creating noise, bitcoin mining facilities often rely on polluting dirty fuels like gas to power operations, wreaking havoc on air quality given their power-hungry nature.
Fortunately, cleaner and more energy-efficient blockchain systems are emerging, and a growing number of miners are capitalizing on renewable energy, which generally experiences less volatile pricing and doesn't generate harmful heat-trapping pollution. Cryptocurrency is even being used to support clean-energy projects and drive green innovation.
Ultimately, cryptocurrency's legacy in a broader historical picture likely depends on its path forward. Leveraging the technology in a more environmentally friendly way could have analysts viewing the burgeoning industry's growth much more favorably in the long term, given its potential to significantly drain resources and contaminate our air with polluting gases.
In the short term, analysts remain bullish on bitcoin despite the potential for tariffs to raise operational costs, considering the U.S. sources most of its mining equipment from Southeast Asian countries, according to BeInCrypto.
"[Bitcoin] is gaining traction as a reserve asset among several U.S. states. Furthermore, inflation and currency devaluation could strengthen Bitcoin's role as a hedge against economic uncertainty," the publication wrote.
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