Get the weekly summary of crypto market analysis, news, and forecasts! This Week’s Summary The crypto market ends the week at a total market capitalization of $2,17 trillion. Bitcoin continues to trade at around $62,300. Ethereum experiences no changes and stagnates at around $2,400. XRP is down by 2%, Solana by 1%, and Dogecoin by 3%. Almost all altcoins are trading in the red, with very few exceptions. The DeFi sector decreased the total value of protocols (TVL) to around…
Tesla’s Equipment Will be Used to Mine Bitcoin for Block and Blockstream
Adam Back – CEO of Blockstream – announced on Friday that his company will construct a $12 million Bitcoin mining facility. The project is a joint effort with Jack Dorsey’s Block and it will leverage renewable energy technology originating from Tesla.
A Triple-Threat Bitcoin Partnership
Adam Back is one of Bitcoin’s original developers, who many suspect of being Satoshi Nakamoto himself. The CEO is the man behind Hashcash, which is the basis of proof-of-work mining that secures Bitcoin today.
However, that same proof-of-work system receives much criticism for incentivizing massive energy consumption by the Bitcoin network. Many believe this system could overly contribute to climate change, inspiring some regulators to seek a ban on it.
In response, Block and Blockstream’s venture will be a proof of concept that Bitcoin mining can rely 100% on renewable energy. According to a press release on the project, the companies will make the economics and power output of the build-out public.
“The Tesla Solar PV array and Tesla Megapack will power Blockstream and Block’s open-source, solar and battery-powered Bitcoin mining facility,” read a slide from Back’s presentation at the Bitcoin Conference. “[The facility is] projected [to produce] 3.8 MW solar renewable power, 30 PH/s hash rate.”
For context, Bitcoin’s total hash rate is estimated at 203.9 EH/s at present. That’s close to 7000 times the hash rate of this mining farm alone.
The Tesla Solar PV array will be a group of Tesla’s photovoltaic solar panels. Meanwhile, the “Megapack”is a large-scale, rechargeable lithium-ion battery.
The use of Tesla equipment in the project contains a hint of irony. Last year, the same company ceased accepting Bitcoin payments due to fears of Bitcoin’s immense energy consumption and carbon footprint.
However, renewable energy usage on the network has grown far more popular since then. According to a report from the Bitcoin Mining Council, the network’s sustainable energy mix was about 56% in Q2 2021. At present, Norway is overrepresented by 1% of the network hash rate and is entirely powered by renewable energy – especially hydroelectricity.
Block and Blockstream’s Mining Contributions
Blockstream is a longstanding BTC and Bitcoin mining infrastructure provider. For example, the company offers mining hosting services for other institutions to gain access to Blockstream’s own ASICs. Furthermore, its current miners use energy 80% from renewables like hydro, solar, wind, and nuclear.
Meanwhile, Block CEO Jack Dorsey has shown interest in decentralizing the mining process worldwide. In January, he announced that his company would build a global Bitcoin mining system to make at-home mining more feasible.
Lastly, his company is also one of the first customers to purchase Intel’s new hyper-efficient ASICs, ready for release in Q3. Contrary to popular belief, the company released a report last year arguing that mining will create a cleaner world.
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