According to preliminary data from the Cambridge Center for Alternative Finance, the share of low-carbon sources in the energy balance of bitcoin mining reached 59.4 percent as of December 2025. This figure significantly exceeds the level of 52.4 percent recorded in June 2024. Researcher Alexander Neuemoeller noted that for the first time, hydropower has bypassed natural gas, becoming the largest single power source for the grid. This structural shift is largely due to the expansion of the survey's geography and the commissioning of large hydroelectric power plants such as the Hidase hydroelectric power plant in Ethiopia. Access to low-cost renewable energy has attracted significant computing power, resulting in this African country accounting for about 2.6 percent of the global hashrate by the beginning of 2026.

Despite the optimization of the energy balance, absolute environmental impact indicators continue to grow. Annual electricity consumption by the grid increased by 38 percent, reaching 190 terawatt-hours, while carbon emissions increased by only 20 percent, amounting to 48 million tons of carbon dioxide. Experts explain this gap by the fact that every kilowatt-hour produced has become cleaner due to the transition to low-carbon sources. Nevertheless, the large-scale expansion of computing power offset the positive effect of the change in the energy mix, which led to an overall increase in greenhouse gas emissions in absolute terms. The figures presented will be included in the second edition of an industry report based on a survey of companies that control more than half of the world's capacity.

The second part of the study was devoted to the plans of mining enterprises to diversify their business towards artificial intelligence and high-performance computing. Although about 40 percent of respondents are exploring this possibility, the real transition is being held back by high capital costs and complex technical requirements. Unlike standard computing devices, servers for artificial intelligence require advanced cooling systems, fiber-optic networks, and guaranteed high reliability of power supply. Having a basic connection to the power grid is no longer a sufficient condition, but it provides companies with a strategic advantage. Electricity is gradually becoming a scarce resource, and enterprises that already have the necessary infrastructure consider vertical integration and provision of services for power grids as key areas of long-term development.