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Bitcoin currently consumes over 0.1% of the entire energy of the planet. Bitcoin currently emits as much carbon as the entire country of Sweden. Bitcoin curre

Bitcoin currently consumes over 0.1% of the entire energy of the planet. Bitcoin currently emits as much carbon as the entire country of Sweden. Bitcoin currently creates 10000 tons of electronic waste and associated pollution a year. Bitcoin is currently enabling a massive epidemic of ransomware, which is not only crippling businesses but also critically important societal services. At this point, it is neither ethical nor moral to use bitcoin, or do anything that helps it thrive. Bitcoin is a crime against humanity, and must be destroyed as soon as possible.

gaara87 6y ago
What societal services are being crippled by ransomware that's so called enabled by Bitcoin? Please understand there's a difference between what the technology provides and what it's being used for. Malicious people using the technology is true of many many technologies. I keep getting phishing calls every other day to give my SSN, does that mean the social security program should be canceled for this very reason?
- dane-pgp 6y ago
  > I keep getting phishing calls every other day to give my SSN, does that mean the social security program should be canceled for this very reason? No, but according to some people's logic it's a reason to ban telephone calls.
  - yjftsjthsd-h 6y ago
    A person could reasonably argue that it's a good reason to ban untraceable phone calls, which is actually being worked on. Likewise, a person could reasonably argue that truly anonymous money shouldn't exist. I'm not actually convinced of this, but it's a coherent position to hold.
- user-the-name 6y ago
  > What societal services are being crippled by ransomware that's so called enabled by Bitcoin? https://threatpost.com/ransomware-hits-hospitals-hardest/162096/ https://threatpost.com/ransomware-hits-hospitals-hardest/162... > Please understand there's a difference between what the technology provides and what it's being used for. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_purpose_of_a_system_is_what_it_does https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_purpose_of_a_system_is_wha...
  - gaara87 5y ago
    > https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_purpose_of_a_system_is_wha https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_purpose_of_a_system_is_wha... With that logic - https://bitcoin.org/bitcoin.pdf https://bitcoin.org/bitcoin.pdf Bitcoin is meant to be purely a peer to peer electronic cash system. Money. This has nothing to do with what you are talking about where it is inherently bad
argvargc 6y ago
Replace "bitcoin" with "the panicked response to COVID", inflate the numbers significantly, and you may be onto something.
- user-the-name 6y ago
  Garbage.
bitcoinmonger 6y ago
Why is this comment being downvoted? We need to have these conversations about energy usage until a solution is found.
keymone 6y ago
> Bitcoin currently consumes over 0.1% of the entire energy of the planet bitcoin doesn't consume any energy at all, you have a severe misunderstanding of what PoW is and how it works.
- user-the-name 6y ago
  I do not. You seem to have a severe case of trying to rationalise incredible destructive waste with pointless semantic arguments. I would recommend you stop that, and open your eyes to reality, where Bitcoin is causing massive, massive harm to society and you are helping.
  - keymone 6y ago
    I think you're virtue signalling concerns about the environment in a situation where those concerns don't even apply. Bitcoin is an idea that opens a market for financial security expressed in form of energy expenditure. That kind of security apparently has value on the market and so while users are willing to purchase it - energy will be spent. If for whatever reason bitcoin ceases to exist, this kind of energy expenditure will just migrate into different system because idea is out of the bag. So get off your high horse and do something that actually helps the environment rather than fighting windmills.
    - user-the-name 6y ago
      Complete and utter libertarian nonsense and rubbish. Sociopathic rationalisation of dumb greed.
      - keymone 6y ago
        Great argument, as always, from people like you, enjoy your irrelevance :)
        user-the-name 6y ago
        100% accurate. There's no counter-argument to be made to what you said, because it was in fact complete gibberish that only make sense in libertarian fantasy land. In reality, none of what you said even means anything.

gaara87 6y ago

What societal services are being crippled by ransomware that's so called enabled by Bitcoin? Please understand there's a difference between what the technology provides and what it's being used for. Malicious people using the technology is true of many many technologies. I keep getting phishing calls every other day to give my SSN, does that mean the social security program should be canceled for this very reason?

dane-pgp 6y ago
> I keep getting phishing calls every other day to give my SSN, does that mean the social security program should be canceled for this very reason? No, but according to some people's logic it's a reason to ban telephone calls.
- yjftsjthsd-h 6y ago
  A person could reasonably argue that it's a good reason to ban untraceable phone calls, which is actually being worked on. Likewise, a person could reasonably argue that truly anonymous money shouldn't exist. I'm not actually convinced of this, but it's a coherent position to hold.
user-the-name 6y ago
> What societal services are being crippled by ransomware that's so called enabled by Bitcoin? https://threatpost.com/ransomware-hits-hospitals-hardest/162096/ https://threatpost.com/ransomware-hits-hospitals-hardest/162... > Please understand there's a difference between what the technology provides and what it's being used for. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_purpose_of_a_system_is_what_it_does https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_purpose_of_a_system_is_wha...
- gaara87 5y ago
  > https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_purpose_of_a_system_is_wha https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_purpose_of_a_system_is_wha... With that logic - https://bitcoin.org/bitcoin.pdf https://bitcoin.org/bitcoin.pdf Bitcoin is meant to be purely a peer to peer electronic cash system. Money. This has nothing to do with what you are talking about where it is inherently bad

argvargc 6y ago

Replace "bitcoin" with "the panicked response to COVID", inflate the numbers significantly, and you may be onto something.

user-the-name 6y ago
Garbage.

bitcoinmonger 6y ago

Why is this comment being downvoted? We need to have these conversations about energy usage until a solution is found.

keymone 6y ago

> Bitcoin currently consumes over 0.1% of the entire energy of the planet bitcoin doesn't consume any energy at all, you have a severe misunderstanding of what PoW is and how it works.

user-the-name 6y ago
I do not. You seem to have a severe case of trying to rationalise incredible destructive waste with pointless semantic arguments. I would recommend you stop that, and open your eyes to reality, where Bitcoin is causing massive, massive harm to society and you are helping.
- keymone 6y ago
  I think you're virtue signalling concerns about the environment in a situation where those concerns don't even apply. Bitcoin is an idea that opens a market for financial security expressed in form of energy expenditure. That kind of security apparently has value on the market and so while users are willing to purchase it - energy will be spent. If for whatever reason bitcoin ceases to exist, this kind of energy expenditure will just migrate into different system because idea is out of the bag. So get off your high horse and do something that actually helps the environment rather than fighting windmills.
  - user-the-name 6y ago
    Complete and utter libertarian nonsense and rubbish. Sociopathic rationalisation of dumb greed.
    - keymone 6y ago
      Great argument, as always, from people like you, enjoy your irrelevance :)
      - user-the-name 6y ago
        100% accurate. There's no counter-argument to be made to what you said, because it was in fact complete gibberish that only make sense in libertarian fantasy land. In reality, none of what you said even means anything.