Bitcoin meets Tesla’s green target for resuming payments

Elon Musk will now be tested on his earlier pledge to resume accepting Bitcoin (BTC) payments at Tesla once the digital currency’s mining reaches an environmentally sustainable benchmark, which reports say it recently surpassed.

The growing optimism stems from a Bloomberg article that cites Bitcoin mining analysts, asserting that the proportion of sustainable energy used by miners of the cryptocurrency now exceeds 53%.

Musk had previously stated 50% as his preferred benchmark before resuming payments in the currency after dropping BTC transactions in 2021, citing environmental concerns.

According to Bloomberg’s Jamie Coutts, the data suggesting BTC has passed the target is considered more accurate than other available sources in the market. It was compiled by Daniel Batten, an investor in technologies aimed at reducing emissions.

Moreover, Coutts claims that the Bitcoin mining industry can be beneficial to the renewable energy sector.

“What's becoming even more apparent is that phasing out coal for wind and solar usually requires subsidies and involves suboptimal payoffs early in the life cycles of power plants. As a source of income based on excess power, Bitcoin mining can support this transition,” said Coutts.

Tesla stopped accepting BTC payments in May 2021, just a few months after introducing them. Shortly thereafter, Musk pledged that his electric car company would resume accepting BTC transactions “when there’s confirmation of reasonable (~50%) clean energy usage by miners with positive future trend.”

However, neither Musk nor Tesla has made any official announcements regarding when the company might resume accepting BTC payments. As of the end of the last quarter, Tesla still held approximately $184 million worth of BTC.

Batten asserts that the Bitcoin mining industry, in terms of energy usage, is more sustainable than some other major sectors.