This Bitcoin Mining Company Says It's Committed to Sustainability

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The following post was written and/or published as a collaboration between Benzinga’s in-house sponsored content team and a financial partner of Benzinga.

It’s estimated that the power required to mine just one Bitcoin (BTC) tops 1,500 kilowatt-hours (kWh). That is more than the average U.S. home uses in 53 days. In fact, the global Bitcoin network consumes 100 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity a year. That is as much as the country of Sweden. With this in mind, many people are concerned about the environmental impact Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies like Ether (ETH) and Dogecoin (DOGE) have on the environment.

Earlier this year, with this in mind, Tesla Inc. TSLA CEO Elon Musk announced the company would no longer accept Bitcoin as payment for its vehicles. Musk has since reversed this decision, but the fact remains that the world has become acutely aware of the mammoth energy needs of Bitcoin.

And they’re hungry for solutions. With climate change already affecting people’s lives and many projections of its future effects bleak, people want change. They want a system that preserves both the decentralized, revolutionary power of Bitcoin and the health of the global climate.

Mawson Infrastructure Group MIGI believes it can help transform Bitcoin mining and usher the world into a green future. As CEO James Manning put it, “We’re looking to leverage a long-term strategy to transition the world into a decarbonized society.” The company aspires to be the leading global digital infrastructure provider and says it is committed to achieving this aspiration in an environmentally sustainable way. 

This green identity is centered around a pledge to have net zero emissions by 2030. The company says it has already offset 100% of its emissions in 2020 and will do the same again in 2021. It plans to plant 53,000 trees in 2022 — 1 tree for every block created on the Bitcoin blockchain that year — bringing its total up to 78,000 with an eventual goal of 1 million trees planted.

Another key to its green commitment is its operational model. Mawson says that it places its mining operations near power plants with unused energy assets. This is excess power that would otherwise go to waste, the company says. And Mawson chooses renewable power plants whenever possible. A key reference point here is the partnership Mawson recently signed with multi-billion dollar green energy infrastructure fund Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners.

This is all in the spirit of the company’s namesake, Sir Douglas Mawson. Mawson was an explorer and scientist who explored large parts of the Antarctic. The company also supports The Mawson Huts Foundation, which protects the original huts built by Mawson and his team in Antarctica, and educates school children on the benefits of fighting climate change.

As Mawson attempts to push the industry toward sustainability and conservation, the company has added 4,000 application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) miners, raising its total mining power by more than 11%, to 3.35EH by Q2 2022, and a target of 5EH by early 2023. The company believes this brings it closer to its goal of being a leader in sustainable Bitcoin mining.

The preceding post was written and/or published as a collaboration between Benzinga’s in-house sponsored content team and a financial partner of Benzinga. Although the piece is not and should not be construed as editorial content, the sponsored content team works to ensure that any and all information contained within is true and accurate to the best of their knowledge and research. This content is for informational purposes only and not intended to be investing advice.