Here's the econ 101 supply/demand graph of GP's argument: https://i.imgur.com/jhQi1yK.png https://i.imgur.com/jhQi1yK.png Right now, the miners have an incent

Here's the econ 101 supply/demand graph of GP's argument: https://i.imgur.com/jhQi1yK.png https://i.imgur.com/jhQi1yK.png Right now, the miners have an incentive to mine more than is socially optimal because the impact on the environment (the externality) doesn't affect their profits. If you add a tax such that the cost to mine bitcoins matches the cost to society, the market will restructure itself to produce the socially optimal amount.