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Gold mining consumes 240.61 TWh per year, which is comparable to the electrical energy consumed by a country like Australia. Source: https://globalenergyprize.

Gold mining consumes 240.61 TWh per year, which is comparable to the electrical energy consumed by a country like Australia. Source: https://globalenergyprize.org/en/2021/11/24/the-bitcoin-gold-rush-the-new-threat-to-world-energy/ https://globalenergyprize.org/en/2021/11/24/the-bitcoin-gold...

grzm 5y ago
Gold as a material has many uses, not only to back currency. Comparison to bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies is not particularly useful.
- hrhrhrhrhr 5y ago
  Most of mined Gold is used as an investment vehicle or to make jewelry. Source: https://www.statista.com/statistics/299609/gold-demand-by-industry-sector-share/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/299609/gold-demand-by-in...
  - samwillis 5y ago
    But that 46% used for “investment” can still be used for something tangible at a later date and so has something other than speculation setting it’s price. Frankly I was pleasantly surprised it was only 46% used for investment.
    - vmception 5y ago
      there are multiple generations of people at this point who don't draw the line of utility at “tangible” now that population has irrevocable possession as well, which still doesnt exist for digital tradable goods outside of this system, and all those people can use their digital property for multiple things too even if it only does any one of those multiple thing moderately well, instead of anything exceedingly well, thats still value. it relies on cognitive negligence to make a separate higher standard for this, that could not apply to any asset under supply and demand pressure.
  - grzm 5y ago
    https://www.statista.com/statistics/299609/gold-demand-by-industry-sector-share/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/299609/gold-demand-by-in... Thanks for the link! Investment. 46.64% Jewelry. 36.83% Central banks. 8.58% Technology. 7.95% According to the stats you shared, less than 10% is used by central banks (currency), about 37% in jewelry, and about 47% for investment. I don’t think it’s fair to lump in jewelry with currency and investments. Much of the discussion I hear argued around cryptocurrency is in comparison to fiat currency. Investments are something again different in my opinion, though I might be convinced otherwise if I saw the those making the comparisons to, say, gold, and making cogent, nuanced points.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- andrepd 5y ago
  Over half of gold mined goes to investment purposes: https://www.statista.com/statistics/299609/gold-demand-by-industry-sector-share/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/299609/gold-demand-by-in...
  - missedthecue 5y ago
    What percentage of Bitcoin is used for speculation/investment
- vmception 5y ago
- NickM 5y ago
  Even if gold were exclusively used as an investment, it would still be lower-carbon than Bitcoin. The energy spent per dollar of gold mined is much less than the energy spent per dollar of Bitcoin mined.
- imtringued 5y ago
  It doesn't really matter. Gold is just a hard to counterfeit token.
samwillis 5y ago
Gold has many uses other than as a speculative holder of value.
almost_usual 5y ago
acover 5y ago
> DePaul University suggests that this number should be closer to 35 tons of CO2 for jewelry, which accounts for roughly 50% of global gold demand. It is assumed that refinement uses a similar amount of power to recycling; therefore, a total of 79.9 MWh is used for the mining and refinement of each gram of gold used in jewelry. Each kilogram of recycled gold produces 37 tons of CO2 and uses 31.3 MWh of energy. This brings the gold mining industry’s 2020 total to 265 TWh of energy used and 145 Mt of CO2 produced if we use the DePaul study’s numbers and account for 1750 tons of jewelry. https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/a-comparison-of-bitcoins-environmental-impact-with-that-of-gold-and-banking-2021-05-04 https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/a-comparison-of-bitcoins-env... That includes the cost of making jewelry. Also, transactions with gold basically 0 energy.
- m00dy 5y ago
  Children workers are slaved to work in African gold mines
- anchpop 5y ago
  transactions on bitcoin cost basically 0 energy too. the bitcoin energy expenditure is from block creation, which is independent from transactions. Of course, bitcoin transactions incentivize block creation, but gold transactions also incentivize gold mining to some degree.
  - tromp 5y ago
    Bitcoin energy expenditure is not entirely independent from block creation. Transaction fees already make up a nontrivial fraction of the block reward and can be expected to dominate block subsidy within a few decades as the latter keeps halving every 4 years.
- latchkey 5y ago
  > transactions with gold basically 0 energy. Transactions with gold often involve transporting it from one location to another location.
  - 5y ago
tootie 5y ago
We should stop mining gold too. Or at least only mine as much as has practical value.
- johndevor 5y ago
  The problem is "practical value" is subjective.
barbazoo 5y ago

grzm 5y ago

Gold as a material has many uses, not only to back currency. Comparison to bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies is not particularly useful.

hrhrhrhrhr 5y ago
Most of mined Gold is used as an investment vehicle or to make jewelry. Source: https://www.statista.com/statistics/299609/gold-demand-by-industry-sector-share/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/299609/gold-demand-by-in...
- samwillis 5y ago
  But that 46% used for “investment” can still be used for something tangible at a later date and so has something other than speculation setting it’s price. Frankly I was pleasantly surprised it was only 46% used for investment.
  - vmception 5y ago
    there are multiple generations of people at this point who don't draw the line of utility at “tangible” now that population has irrevocable possession as well, which still doesnt exist for digital tradable goods outside of this system, and all those people can use their digital property for multiple things too even if it only does any one of those multiple thing moderately well, instead of anything exceedingly well, thats still value. it relies on cognitive negligence to make a separate higher standard for this, that could not apply to any asset under supply and demand pressure.
- grzm 5y ago
  https://www.statista.com/statistics/299609/gold-demand-by-industry-sector-share/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/299609/gold-demand-by-in... Thanks for the link! Investment. 46.64% Jewelry. 36.83% Central banks. 8.58% Technology. 7.95% According to the stats you shared, less than 10% is used by central banks (currency), about 37% in jewelry, and about 47% for investment. I don’t think it’s fair to lump in jewelry with currency and investments. Much of the discussion I hear argued around cryptocurrency is in comparison to fiat currency. Investments are something again different in my opinion, though I might be convinced otherwise if I saw the those making the comparisons to, say, gold, and making cogent, nuanced points.
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
andrepd 5y ago
Over half of gold mined goes to investment purposes: https://www.statista.com/statistics/299609/gold-demand-by-industry-sector-share/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/299609/gold-demand-by-in...
- missedthecue 5y ago
  What percentage of Bitcoin is used for speculation/investment
vmception 5y ago
NickM 5y ago
Even if gold were exclusively used as an investment, it would still be lower-carbon than Bitcoin. The energy spent per dollar of gold mined is much less than the energy spent per dollar of Bitcoin mined.
imtringued 5y ago
It doesn't really matter. Gold is just a hard to counterfeit token.

samwillis 5y ago

Gold has many uses other than as a speculative holder of value.

almost_usual 5y ago

acover 5y ago

> DePaul University suggests that this number should be closer to 35 tons of CO2 for jewelry, which accounts for roughly 50% of global gold demand. It is assumed that refinement uses a similar amount of power to recycling; therefore, a total of 79.9 MWh is used for the mining and refinement of each gram of gold used in jewelry. Each kilogram of recycled gold produces 37 tons of CO2 and uses 31.3 MWh of energy. This brings the gold mining industry’s 2020 total to 265 TWh of energy used and 145 Mt of CO2 produced if we use the DePaul study’s numbers and account for 1750 tons of jewelry. https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/a-comparison-of-bitcoins-environmental-impact-with-that-of-gold-and-banking-2021-05-04 https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/a-comparison-of-bitcoins-env... That includes the cost of making jewelry. Also, transactions with gold basically 0 energy.

m00dy 5y ago
Children workers are slaved to work in African gold mines
anchpop 5y ago
transactions on bitcoin cost basically 0 energy too. the bitcoin energy expenditure is from block creation, which is independent from transactions. Of course, bitcoin transactions incentivize block creation, but gold transactions also incentivize gold mining to some degree.
- tromp 5y ago
  Bitcoin energy expenditure is not entirely independent from block creation. Transaction fees already make up a nontrivial fraction of the block reward and can be expected to dominate block subsidy within a few decades as the latter keeps halving every 4 years.
latchkey 5y ago
> transactions with gold basically 0 energy. Transactions with gold often involve transporting it from one location to another location.
- 5y ago

tootie 5y ago

We should stop mining gold too. Or at least only mine as much as has practical value.

johndevor 5y ago
The problem is "practical value" is subjective.

barbazoo 5y ago