A Bitcoin Mining Council has been formed to improve the cryptocurrency’s environmental footprint.

The move follows talks between a group of established North American Bitcoin miners and Tesla founder Elon Musk.

The new group will promote “energy usage transparency" and "accelerate sustainability initiatives worldwide” according to the host of meeting Michael Saylor, chief executive of business intelligence company MicroStrategy, who convened the meeting.

The news comes after Tesla stopped allowing customers to use Bitcoin to purchase its vehicles earlier this month, citing the fossil fuel intensive nature of “mining” the cryptocurrency.

The electric car maker had only announced it was accepting Bitcoin in February 2021.

The cryptocurrency, which is the largest in the world in terms of market capitalisation, fell 17 per cent in the aftermath of Tesla’s decision.

The Tesla chief executive called the development “potentially promising”, and Bitcoin rose to $40,800 in trading in the immediate aftermath of the news.

New Bitcoin is created when high performance computers compete against other computers to solve mathematical equations, which requires significant amounts of energy often derived from fossil fuels.

The news comes as Iran's government ordered mining operations to cease until September 22 due to its electricity usage.

"As a founding member of the Bitcoin Mining Council, Argo will push hard for sustainable mining and more transparency,” said Argo Blockchain chief executive Peter Wall. “After applying brakes on Bitcoin as a payment mode to buy Tesla vehicles, Musk has also revealed that he might create his own cryptocurrency in the near future.”

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