Cathie Wood Shares How Bitcoin Miners Can Harness Harmful Methane Emissions

Ark Investment Management founder and Chief Investment Officer Cathie Wood shared new research that explains how Bitcoin BTC/USD can potentially transform methane emissions into Bitcoin mining that can "turbocharge" electricity generated by solar power.

What Happened: In a Monday tweet, Wood drew attention to a series of tweets from Ark research analyst Sam Korus detailing the role Bitcoin mining could play in reducing harmful emissions. 

Important research from @skorusARK on #Bitcoin’s potential role in transforming methane emissions into bitcoin mining that will turbocharge electricity generated by solar and wind. @skorusARK https://t.co/6cgxGHNcJZ

— Cathie Wood (@CathieDWood) July 26, 2022

“Over 265 billion cubic meters (bcm) of natural gas are emitted each year from the oil and gas industry,” stated Korus, explaining that “only 25 bcm of natural gas would be needed to support Bitcoin's current hash rate.”

Korus explained that these methane emissions could help generate electricity at a much lower cost than Bitcoin mining companies pay today.

6/If faced with no supply constraints on mining hardware, Bitcoin miners could harness vented methane and undercut “pure play” Bitcoin mining companies, pushing them into unprofitable territory.

— Sam Korus (@skorusARK) July 25, 2022

Energy-efficient Bitcoin mining has been of particular importance to mining companies today. Most mining firms have switched to more sustainable energy sources, evidenced by the lowered cost of producing a single Bitcoin.

Earlier this year, Intel Corporation INTC launched its own energy-efficient Bitcoin mining microchip, the first shipments of which are expected in the third quarter.

Price Action: According to data from Benzinga Pro, BTC was trading at $21,170, down 0.4% over the last 24 hours. 

Bitcoin mining stocks Marathon Digital Holdings Inc MARA and Riot Blockchain Inc RIOT were trading 6.7% and 4.6% higher, respectively, in the after-market session.