Bitcoin mining: Economics and grid impact

The Bitcoin mining industry has emerged from a punishing crypto winter, but faces new turbulence ahead. This report examines the industry from two lenses: its economics and its impact on the grid. Daily cashflow modeling is used to explain the widespread default of miners over the last year, and grid simulations are performed to isolate the impact that mining has on ratepayer costs. Miner power procurement is analyzed, including statistics on term, supplier, resell ability and renewable colocation. Miner power consumption is also examined, including price-sensitivity, transmission cost avoidance and demand response participation. We present a future outlook given the crypto interconnection queue in ERCOT and the disruptive potential of miner debt, the Bitcoin Halving event, and the prospect of a spot Bitcoin ETF.