Bitcoin Mining Surges to Record Levels

The amount of computing power dedicated to Bitcoin mining has jumped by 13.6% over the last two weeks, as more companies made use of the energy and data center space freed up after "the Merge" - a massive upgrade of the Ethereum network, which restructured the way the coins are created.

Ethereum’s technical upgrade has replaced as many as one million powerful computers with Ether holders to validate transaction data encrypted by the network and reduce its carbon footprint by 99%, Bloomberg reports. Ether miners are no longer getting token rewards after the Merge, which has created extra space in data centers to host Bitcoin mining machines and more electricity to power the rigs.

Rack space for Bitcoin miners was limited, freeing up the space paves the way for machines previously unplugged to get plugged in,

says Ethan Vera, chief operations officer at crypto-mining firm Luxor Technologies.

However, more resources from Ether miners are only one of the reasons for Bitcoin mining power’s surge. There have been fewer power curtailment from major miners as they head into the cooler months in the US and Europe. While electricity cost has fallen month over month, it could rise again as people turn on their heaters in the winter.

While Bitcoin miners are able to tap into Ether miners’ data center space and energy infrastructure, they can’t use graphic cards. Instead, they operate specialized computers with a unique algorithm to mine Bitcoin.