The Digital Currency Mining Market is Time-Limited and Likely Unsustainable for Utilities and Hardware Suppliers

A new report from Navigant Research analyzes the drivers of the digital currency mining market, including an analysis of utility systems most heavily affected by its growth.

When digital currencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum experienced a surge in valuation in 2017 and 2018, the anticipated revenue potential for digitally mining these currencies gave way to a new industry incentivized to minimize electricity costs. This new industry had a marked impact on a handful of utility systems, as large-scale operations were established in cool regions with low average electricity prices; however, high electricity demand strained existing infrastructure and exposed vulnerabilities in these systems. Click to tweet: According to a new report from @NavigantRSRCH, the digital currency market is time-limited and likely unsustainable for utilities and hardware suppliers.

“The rise and fall of the digital currency mining industry contains lessons for utilities, which must make resource allocation decisions on a longtime horizon,” says Johnathon de Villier, research analyst with Navigant Research. “Hardware suppliers and manufacturers must also recognize the market for digital currency mining is likely to decline over the next 10 years due to technological shifts and other factors.”

According to the report, the digital currency mining industry has unconventional load characteristics, and potential growth scenarios for digital currency electricity consumption show an uncertain future for digital currency mining.

The report, Utilities and Hardware Suppliers Should Plan for a Future Without Digital Currency Mining, analyzes the drivers of the digital currency market, including utility systems most heavily affected by its growth. The study forecasts five scenarios for the growth of the digital currency mining market from 2019 to 2028 in terms of potential revenue and electricity consumption. The report examines the key factors that make low or negative growth scenarios most probable and makes recommendations for both utilities and hardware suppliers. An Executive Summary of the report is available for free download on the Navigant Research website.

Contact:

Lindsay Funicello-Paul

+1.781.270.8456

lindsay.funicello.paul@navigant.com

* The information contained in this press release concerning the report, Utilities and Hardware Suppliers Should Plan for a Future Without Digital Currency Mining, is a summary and reflects Navigant Research’s current expectations based on market data and trend analysis. Market predictions and expectations are inherently uncertain and actual results may differ materially from those contained in this press release or the report. Please refer to the full report for a complete understanding of the assumptions underlying the report’s conclusions and the methodologies used to create the report. Neither Navigant Research nor Navigant undertakes any obligation to update any of the information contained in this press release or the report.