A framework for maintaining sustainable energy use in Bitcoin mining through switching efficient mining hardware

Abstract

Blockhain te chnology tevolutionized the financial -y nem with the emerence of cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin as the mo center dot t used cryptocunency has been p..rticulialy ptestioned in the literatm'e for its sustainability. Very few studies explore the funne of sustainability from the perspective of both miners' and technology maken' continual profitability. Our study evaluates the hardware used for Bitcoin mining korn a sustainability analysis perspective; therefore, changes in the difficulty leve) in the block algorithrr and mining hardware's themial power ttsage are considered to determine the proitability and the exergetic efficiency of the mining process. The consistent decay in e, ergetic efficiency c iota uves of several GPU and .SIC-based technology hardware sttggest that the hardware can be utilized up to the leveis where the efficiency values hit iota ero. Simultaneottsly. the dirninishing profit levels over the cotuse of changing Bitcoin prices make the mining hardware unsustainable signaling an end to its life cycle and switching the hardware with more efficient ones. Our findings shed light on the future of the sustainability of Bitcoin mining in terms of securing the profitability of the business by determining the exergetic efficiency of the hardware with a completely new perspective in the literature.