Bitcoin ESG Data Sheet: A Comprehensive Overview of Bitcoin’s Environmental Impact
As Bitcoin adoption continues to grow, so does the need for clear, reliable data on its environmental impact. The debate around Bitcoin’s energy consumption and sustainability has often been clouded by misconceptions and incomplete data. Yet, a major challenge remains: what does MiCA-compliant ESG data actually look like?
Many industry participants struggle with understanding how to produce such data, let alone verify its accuracy. The MiCA Crypto Alliance is addressing this uncertainty by offering a free, fully compliant ESG Data Sheet setting an industry benchmark.
The MiCA Crypto Alliance, with technical support from Exponential Science and risk data provider Nodiens, has developed a comprehensive Bitcoin ESG Data Sheet which is a MiCA-compliant report that provides a data-driven assessment of Bitcoin’s energy usage, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and other sustainability variables.
This report is the result of extensive research, methodology alignment with MiCA requirements, and a commitment to transparency that few in the industry have achieved. The output is a resource that not only meets legal standards but also clarifies what full compliance with the MiCA regulations entails.
What’s Inside the Report?
The Bitcoin ESG Data Sheet is structured around mandatory, supplementary, and optional indicators, ensuring a robust and transparent methodology in line with MiCA (Markets in Crypto-Assets) regulatory requirements.
- Mandatory Indicators – Core ESG metrics, including Bitcoin’s total energy consumption and key sustainability impacts.
- Supplementary Indicators – Additional insights into renewable energy use, emissions intensity, and energy efficiency per transaction.
- Optional Indicators – Going beyond legal minimums, this report includes a deeper analysis of Bitcoin’s energy mix, waste generation, and impact on natural resources—offering insights no other industry resource provides.
Key findings include:
- Total energy consumption: ~139.8 TWh per year
- Energy intensity: 405.7 kWh per transaction
- Scope 2 GHG emissions: ~43.8 million tonnes of CO2eq per year
- Renewable energy share: 40.4% (excluding some sustainable energy sources such as nuclear and vented methane)
Why This Report Matters
Bitcoin’s ESG performance is a critical topic for regulators, financial institutions, and sustainability advocates. Yet, inconsistent reporting standards have made it difficult to assess Bitcoin’s real impact.
This ESG Data Sheet sets a new standard for transparency, providing:
- A clear example of what MiCA-compliant ESG disclosures should look like, helping industry participants navigate evolving regulatory expectations.
- Accurate, actionable data to empower informed decision-making, enabling Bitcoin users to assess their environmental impact.
- Insights that go beyond the legal minimum, including optional indicators that provide a more comprehensive view—something no other resource in the industry currently offers.
- A tool that allows Bitcoin users to now assess their impact on the environment, closing the gap between usage and sustainability awareness.
Setting a New Standard for MiCA Compliance
Curating MiCA-compliant ESG data is no easy task. Many in the industry are still unsure of what compliance looks like and few resources exist to guide them. The MiCA Crypto Alliance has stepped up to address this knowledge gap by offering the ESG Data Sheet for Bitcoin as a freely available example of a fully MiCA-compliant, structured ESG disclosure.
Unlike standard reports that only meet legal requirements, this document goes far beyond providing the bare minimum by including many optional indicators that offer a more detailed sustainability assessment and transparency. By doing so, the MiCA Crypto Alliance hopes to set a precedent for best practices in MiCA-aligned ESG reporting.
The MiCA Crypto Alliance: Simplifying Compliance
This data sheet has been prepared by the MiCA Crypto Alliance, an initiative designed to streamline the process of achieving MiCA compliance. Our team specialises in crafting MiCA-compliant white papers, which, since December 2024, have become a legal requirement for all crypto-assets within the EU.
Under the EU's MiCA Regulation, any entity wishing to publicly offer a crypto-asset or list it for trading on a platform in the European Union must publish a MiCA white paper and ESG data disclosures. This includes crypto-asset issuers and crypto-asset service providers (CASPs) such as exchanges and custodial wallet providers offering new crypto-assets to the public.
We ease the compliance process for you, saving valuable time, resources, and costs. Our white papers go above and beyond the required standards, including comprehensive supplementary data, and we can also assist in creating your ESG data sheet to ensure full regulatory compliance and make a strong impression on regulators. Get in touch to learn more.
For a detailed, data-driven look at Bitcoin’s sustainability profile, download the full Bitcoin ESG Data Sheet today.
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