Bitcoin Mining Electricity Demand Surges 38% as Hydropower Takes Lead
Bitcoin mining's electricity demand rose by 38% between June 2024 and December 2025, reaching approximately 190 terawatt-hours (TWh) per year. According to a preliminary report from the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance, this represents a significant increase in energy consumption.
The research also found that hydropower has overtaken natural gas as the largest single source of energy for Bitcoin mining. Low-carbon power now accounts for 59.4% of the reported mix, up from 52.4% in the previous study.
Despite this shift towards cleaner energy sources, total estimated greenhouse-gas emissions still increased by 20%, from about 40 million to 48 million tonnes of carbon-dioxide equivalent. This suggests that while miners are transitioning towards more sustainable options, their overall energy consumption is growing faster than expected.