Private Equity
Andrea Alms Video: Money In Motion 159 - Bitcoin Energy Mining
May 2025 - Private Equity
Andrea Alms Video: Money in Motion 159 - Bitcoin Energy Mining
TRANSCRIPT: Hello, my name is Andrea Alms. I'm a technology investor and financial manager and this is your money in motion. An energy intensive process that relies on powerful computers to create and protect cryptocurrency, Bitcoin mining has grown rapidly in the country over recent years. The current administration is intent on encouraging this industry. Trump has says he wants to turn the U.S. into a crypto mining capital of the world, announcing in June 2024 that, quote, we want all the remaining Bitcoin to be made in the US. However, this has implications for rural communities throughout the US, many of whom voted for Trump. Electricity demand associated with U.S. cryptocurrency mining operations in the U.S. has grown very rapidly over the last several years. Preliminary estimates suggest that annual electricity use from cryptocurrency mining probably represents 0.6% to 2.3% of U.S. electricity consumption. Bitcoin mining has boomed in the US, partly because of a crackdown in China in 2021, which was due to concerns over its environmental damage.
Alexander New Miller, an expert at the University of Cambridge Center for Alternative Finance, has said that although it's hard to trace every last mined, it's clear that the US is now leading bitcoin producer, mining about 40% of the world's supply. Bitcoin's thirst for energy continues to grow. Bitcoin's annual global power demand terawatts demand so far this year is 67 terawatts.
According to Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index. Mining globally uses approximately 0.7% of the global electricity consumption. Backlash in Trump's backyard A conflict in Seneca Lake is being played out across the nation, which could pose problems for the white House intent on pursuing a pro cryptocurrency agenda. A little over 100 miles west of Dresden, a backlash in the US border town of Niagara Falls prompted the local mayor, Robert Christina, a Democrat, to issue a moratorium on new mining activity in December 2021 and the following year issuing noise limits of 40 to 50dB near residential areas were imposed.
He said the noise pollution of this industry is like nothing else. Locals describe the sound as similar to that of a 747 jet, or as great as having a toothache 24 hours a day, claiming the noise drowns out the sounds of the nearby waterfalls. In Granbury, Texas, a 24ft high sound barrier was erected in 2023 at a mining site after residents complained to public officials that the nonstop roar was keeping them awake and giving them migraines.
In 2017, bitcoin miners flooded into Plattsburgh, New York, a city of about 20,000 people. A couple of hours to the north of Dresden. Because of the cheap hydro electricity rates. We were having bitcoin applications from operators all over the globe, said the city mayor at the time. Colin Read. Yet they use so much power that electricity rates shut up.
Within a year, some residents were paying up to 40% more during winter months, Reed said. The Bitcoin energy mining is unsettling Trump's mega heartland, but there are annoyance. It's also a signal of something less expected policy of the white House is meeting resistance from people in the rural areas, whose votes drove his return to the white House. What is or what is the future of Bitcoin mining?
One constant in the history of the short, short history of Bitcoin has been volatility. It might be boom times now. Yet a downturn in prices, shifting energy sources and changing crypto needs could fundamentally reshape the Bitcoin mining landscape. No matter how much Trump wants to keep it in the US. It's emerging into something, something of a David and Goliath story. Thank you. This is your money. Your money. in motion.