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There's an argument to be made for crypto to be used to turn power that wouldn't otherwise be economical / linked to the grid / used into money, which can then

by 55555 3y ago

There's an argument to be made for crypto to be used to turn power that wouldn't otherwise be economical / linked to the grid / used into money, which can then be turned back into power (in a purely economic sense) later. For example wave energy could power GPUs in the middle of the ocean, with no need to then transmit electricity to shore. Solar could be captured in the middle of the desert. Some oil rigs are mining crypto with the natural gas that leaks from their wells. So long as there's a starlink satellite above, energy can be turned into money on the spot, and then that money can buy energy in another place and time. (Ofcourse, this doesn't actually create new energy.) Something to think about.

GaryNumanVevo 3y ago
The energy market already works like this today (sans blockchain), any multinational provider is doing energy arbitrage across different markets and energy sources (electrical production, natural gas, etc)
- pcthrowaway 3y ago
  Actually, the idea of a bitcoin operation in the middle of a desert is maybe the only decent defense of its waste of energy I've heard. Someone harvesting solar power in the middle of the desert doesn't have to connect to any other energy grids to conduct mining, so in theory it's not driving up costs for other consumers or wasting energy that could be used for literally anything else. It'd still be a waste of the solar panels and resources though, and the setup would certainly involve some externalities with other impact. And realistically the overwhelming majority of mining operations are not doing this, so it's just smoke and mirrors by people arguing in bad faith. But I'd have much less of a problem with bitcoin if all its mining came from remote locations that would see no development otherwise, using energy harvested from the environment.
lottin 3y ago
This argument is nonsense though. The energy that is used to secure the bitcoin network is spent. It can't be recovered later.
- shashasha2 3y ago
  Rien ne se perd, rien ne se crée, tout se transforme. —- Lavoisier

by 55555 3y ago

GaryNumanVevo 3y ago

The energy market already works like this today (sans blockchain), any multinational provider is doing energy arbitrage across different markets and energy sources (electrical production, natural gas, etc)

pcthrowaway 3y ago
Actually, the idea of a bitcoin operation in the middle of a desert is maybe the only decent defense of its waste of energy I've heard. Someone harvesting solar power in the middle of the desert doesn't have to connect to any other energy grids to conduct mining, so in theory it's not driving up costs for other consumers or wasting energy that could be used for literally anything else. It'd still be a waste of the solar panels and resources though, and the setup would certainly involve some externalities with other impact. And realistically the overwhelming majority of mining operations are not doing this, so it's just smoke and mirrors by people arguing in bad faith. But I'd have much less of a problem with bitcoin if all its mining came from remote locations that would see no development otherwise, using energy harvested from the environment.

lottin 3y ago

This argument is nonsense though. The energy that is used to secure the bitcoin network is spent. It can't be recovered later.

shashasha2 3y ago
Rien ne se perd, rien ne se crée, tout se transforme. —- Lavoisier