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> that energy can be used for something productive A decentralized/borderless/censorship-resistant/virtual currency is one of the most productive things we can
by rawtxapp 5y ago
> that energy can be used for something productive
A decentralized/borderless/censorship-resistant/virtual currency is one of the most productive things we can use energy for. It might not be as apparent in the US or the developed world, but Bitcoin is a life-saver for many people in countries with crumbling currencies. We waste a lot of energy on things that are far more more useless (like christmas lights for example[1]).
We should just put carbon tax on everything with environmental side effects and let the market decides what's a productive use case vs one that isn't.
1: https://bitcoinist.com/bitcoin-mining-energy-consumption-us-christmas-lights/ https://bitcoinist.com/bitcoin-mining-energy-consumption-us-...
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- mondoveneziano 5y agoYou could regulate inefficient christmas lights, but consumers will likely choose more efficient options anyway when they become available to them. How do you enforce carbon taxes on miners under a defunct government in a remote location of the world?
- codelord 5y agoI don't believe mining Bitcoin quite falls into the category of "most productive things we can use energy for". Drug discovery, carbon capture, agriculture, construction, etc. etc. come to mind as slightly more useful. Financial transactions in traditional banking systems which Bitcoin mining is more comparable with consume far far far less energy. Also Bitcoin is designed to adjust PoW difficulty based on network's average mining performance. In other words, the more compute power you provide the less efficient it becomes.