Bitcoin miners in the United States spent a whopping $2.7 billion on electricity in the first few months of 2024. These exorbitant costs are used to power the powerful computers needed to mine the digital currency.

Since the start of 2024, Bitcoin mining in the United States has consumed 20,822.62 gigawatt hours (GWh) of electricity. That’s enough to fully charge all of the country’s electric cars 87.52 times! Alternatively, it could power about 2 million households for an entire year, which is 1.51% of all American households.

The cost of mining a single Bitcoin has risen dramatically due to increased energy consumption. Before the “halving” event in April, the cost of mining a single Bitcoin was about $52,144. It now costs $110,503 at average commercial electricity prices.

Despite rising energy costs, the United States remains a major player in global Bitcoin production. So far in 2024, US miners have contributed 44,102 BTC, representing 37.84% of the world’s total production. Despite its large energy footprint, the Bitcoin mining industry is seeing a positive trend toward renewable energy sources. A January 2024 report revealed that sustainable energy use in Bitcoin mining reached an all-time high of 54.5%, with sustainable energy mining overall increasing by 3.6% over the course of 2023.