Sunday, October 14, 2018

Bitcoin & the Energy Consumption Fallacy

https://bitcoinist.com/bitcoin-mining-three-reasons-why-energy-consumption-rhetoric-is-pure-nonsense/ OSATO AVAN-NOMAYO | OCT 14, 2018 - The pseudo-environmentalists will have you believe that Bitcoin mining means the death of the planet. Much of their arguments revolve around energy consumption at data centers used for carrying out the complex mathematical computations needed to validate transactions on the blockchain. The problem with these arguments is that they imagine the world as having a single energy grid. To them, energy is a finite concept which means that Bitcoin miners are simply guzzling vast chunks of it to the detriment of other would-be users. So, when mining farm A in China and mining farm B in Iceland are in operation, the remaining parts of the world somehow suffer dips in energy supply? Bitcoin mining cannot in any meaningful way affect global energy consumption more so than truly heavy industries like smelting plants and banks. Yes, you read that right, banks. Many Bitcoin mining facilities around the world use off-grid renewable energy sources. In other places around the world, companies have established solar-powered and wind-powered mining centers.