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Here’s something to think about: how much CO2 has been released into the atmosphere just from crypto currency mining alone? One of the main reasons I’ve avoided

Here’s something to think about: how much CO2 has been released into the atmosphere just from crypto currency mining alone? One of the main reasons I’ve avoided getting into bitcoin mining is because my town is powered by a coal plant and I simply cannot justify burning coal to acquire make-believe money. Just because something is legal doesn’t mean it isn’t harmful.

emiliobumachar 9y ago
Do you consider gold and silver similarly perverse? Literal mining is messy.
- Scarblac 9y ago
  How is that not just whataboutism? It's not as if we are all forced to choose between either bitcoin or gold...
  - rm_-rf_slash 9y ago
    Besides, those metals are real and have industrial uses, whereas cryptos are just a series of bits that the market collectively agrees holds a value.
    - CoongLiu 9y ago
      Most economies use representative currency. In many places, notes and coins are largely worthless. Cryptocurrencies differ mainly by being virtual. Given that notes are usually used to represent the larger sums of money, the virtual aspect becomes mostly semantic. Given that most people store their money in banks, who don't have all that money on hand at any point in time (hence why they collapse), then the virtual factor begins to matter even less. I don't use bitcoin (or equivalent) for pragmatic reasons. Your point however seems to be about its collective abstraction. If you were being consistent, you would have to be against most mainstream currencies as well. This is not a pragmatic or scalable method of commerce. It very quickly become tedious to trade with items that are of only concrete, immediate value to both parties. Try to imagine how online purchases, or warehouses, would function. There's a good reason why virtually every civilisation swapped to representative currency after reaching a certain size.

emiliobumachar 9y ago

Do you consider gold and silver similarly perverse? Literal mining is messy.

Scarblac 9y ago
How is that not just whataboutism? It's not as if we are all forced to choose between either bitcoin or gold...
- rm_-rf_slash 9y ago
  Besides, those metals are real and have industrial uses, whereas cryptos are just a series of bits that the market collectively agrees holds a value.
  - CoongLiu 9y ago
    Most economies use representative currency. In many places, notes and coins are largely worthless. Cryptocurrencies differ mainly by being virtual. Given that notes are usually used to represent the larger sums of money, the virtual aspect becomes mostly semantic. Given that most people store their money in banks, who don't have all that money on hand at any point in time (hence why they collapse), then the virtual factor begins to matter even less. I don't use bitcoin (or equivalent) for pragmatic reasons. Your point however seems to be about its collective abstraction. If you were being consistent, you would have to be against most mainstream currencies as well. This is not a pragmatic or scalable method of commerce. It very quickly become tedious to trade with items that are of only concrete, immediate value to both parties. Try to imagine how online purchases, or warehouses, would function. There's a good reason why virtually every civilisation swapped to representative currency after reaching a certain size.