For individuals eager to participate in the cryptocurrency frenzy, bitcoin mining is a tempting method to get bitcoins. But the price is steep. Numerous investigations have shown how energy prices for mining have skyrocketed. (See also: Does the Cost of Energy for Bitcoin Mining Affect the Price?)
A study from Crescent Electric Supply Co. offers a another perspective on the situation. Based on expenses, the research rates the five best and worst states for mining. Louisiana is the most affordable state for bitcoin mining, with a cost per bitcoin of $3,224 on average. The next three least expensive states are Idaho, Washington, and Tennessee. Arkansas, with average prices of $3,505 per bitcoin, rounds out the top five.
The list’s last place finishers are New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Alaska, and Hawaii. In reality, the average price of a bitcoin in Hawaii is $9,483. Given that the cost of a single bitcoin has increased by more than 800% in the last year, such expenses may still provide a sizable return.
The price of one bitcoin at the time of writing was $10,486.38.
A Case Of Energy Costs?
Energy is reported to account for more than 90% of the total expenditures associated with bitcoin mining, and Crescent Energy’s calculations appear to have been based on this as well.
Despite being the country’s top energy consumer, Louisiana paid much lower prices than the average, according to EIA data. As a result of its energy efficiency initiatives, Massachusetts, in contrast, has a low per capita energy usage when compared to other states. In contrast to the national average of 13.30 cents per kWh, this has led to high power costs of 20.43 cents per kWh.
Hawaii and Washington exhibit comparable contrasts. While Hawaii has average prices of 29.03 cents per kWh, the Pacific Northwest state boasts low usage and electric costs. At the beginning of 2017, Washington increased the cost of power for bitcoin miners in an effort to take advantage of its appeal as a location for bitcoin miners.
However, such expenses are negligible in compared to those in Iceland, where Genesis Mining, a bitcoin mining company, maintains a location. Genesis said in a 2015 interview that it costs them $60 to mine a single bitcoin.
Sichuan, a province with inexpensive and ample electricity, is home to numerous mining enterprises in China, which supplies the bulk of the world’s bitcoins. There, mining bitcoins is probably also rather inexpensive.
Or Maybe Not
Researchers and economists have started questioning the data sources for bitcoin’s projected energy use in the interim. In December of last year, Stanford University lecturer and researcher Jonathan Koomey warned CNBC that “wild extrapolations” may have real-world repercussions. “I wouldn’t stake anything on bitcoin being the main driver of overall power consumption. It makes up a minuscule fraction of entire data center power use, he added.
Without “real data from miners,” according to Christian Catalini, a professor at the MIT Sloan School of Management, it is impossible to make statements regarding energy usage that are legitimate.
