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"inordinate amount of energy" It's comparable to what a single hydro dam like the Three Gorges Dam can produce. Don't fall prey to the scary comparisons BECI e
by mrb 7y ago
"inordinate amount of energy"
It's comparable to what a single hydro dam like the Three Gorges Dam can produce. Don't fall prey to the scary comparisons BECI employs to mislead its readers.
Global warming is critical, but there are other energy wasters much, much bigger than Bitcoin miners.
Besides, as it's been said many times, miners tend to use renewables since they have become cheaper than fossil fuel power plants. A recent paper by Stoll et al. estimated CO2 emissions as being comparable to what a single city like Las Vegas emits: https://mobile.twitter.com/zorinaq/status/1139439068570193921 https://mobile.twitter.com/zorinaq/status/113943906857019392...
- danmaz74 7y agoRight now the share of the world economy running on Bitcoin is negligible, yet its energy consumption is relevant. If that share became consistent, the price of Bitcoin would increase by many orders of magnitude, and mining bitcoin would become more and more competitive in relation to other uses of energy, and would increase in tune - that's why I say inordinate. PoW is just unsustainable by design.
- trickstra 7y agoBitcoin's energy consumption is also by design self balancing - increase the price of electricity, less electricity will be used. With the same benefits for the network.
- arcticbull 7y agoNot really, it's self-balancing with respect to the efficiency of the technology around it. As tech gets better, Bitcoin gets worse to compensate.
- _Microft 7y ago> It's comparable to what a single hydro dam like the Three Gorges Dam can produce. Which happens to be one of, if not the largest hydroelectric dam in the world. > Besides, as it's been said many times, miners tend to use renewables since they have become cheaper than fossil fuel power plants. Which means that this renewable energy is no longer available for other uses.