> Um, no. That presumes there is somewhere cheaper to move, for one. If you assume this isn't the case, then the original comment I was responding to would imp

> Um, no. That presumes there is somewhere cheaper to move, for one. If you assume this isn't the case, then the original comment I was responding to would imply that bitcoin mining is raising the price of energy for the entire world. At 0.5% of global energy consumption, this seems pretty unrealistic. The overhead of moving is obviously not zero, but my point is mostly that bitcoin miners will in general tend to flow to where there is cheaper and less demand for electricity. This in general should cause less tension between where energy is needed. More modern regulated bitcoin miners will generally only exist where there are periods of excess power, eg from wind or solar. They will often sell to the grid operator the ability to interrupt their power when electricity becomes scarce. I completely agree that miners shouldn't be sucking up subsidized hydro power, but also that hydro power shouldn't be subsidized in the first place.