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My rational take is that Bitcoin's carbon footprint is more-or-less a direct function of its price. The market forces are such that you can expect mining to exp
by mumblemumble 5y ago
My rational take is that Bitcoin's carbon footprint is more-or-less a direct function of its price. The market forces are such that you can expect mining to expand until, on average, each miner's expected reward is only a little bit higher than their electricity bill and hardware costs.
If prices come down, that is going to encourage some miners to take capacity offline, which is probably great for anyone who's interested in keeping Amsterdam dry.
- cheaprentalyeti 5y agoAnd you think China's going to shut down their coal plants and dismantle the train tracks carrying coal there just because the price of bitcoin drops? Or are they just going to use the pollution for something else?
- Swenrekcah 5y agoBasically yeah. There are time lags, but crypto mining has been causing new power plants to be built everywhere and when it goes away that pressure will stop. However the world always needs more energy so the plants built will unfortunately continue operating in some other capacity for a while, but the sooner the mining stops, the sooner they will be replaced by renewables.
- mumblemumble 5y agoMarket forces affect the energy industry as well. They aren't burning coal for fun; they're burning it to make money and/or satisfy a demand. If electricity consumption drops, then plants will produce less electricity, and construction of new plants will slow down or stop.
- AnIdiotOnTheNet 5y agoSo they use their pollution for something else, as opposed to using it for that and mining BTC. Still a net-win.