Bitcoin mining is ‘a waste of energy’ is quite simply wrong and taken out of context, according to Bitcoin OG Dan Held, who says it’s actually the opposite.
Bitcoin mining has been the target for fud during this cycle as many nocoiners, who simply don’t understand it, claim Bitcoin is a waste of energy and is boiling the oceans.
But what the fud brigade seems to miss out on is what type of energy is being used to mine BTC, and the amount of energy actually wasted by the legacy banking and financial system.
What’s more, there is enough evidence to prove that Bitcoin ins’t a waste of energy and is in fact good for the environment.
Bitcoin Mining Uses A Lot Of Energy, But It’s Taken Completely Out Of Context
Bitcoin mining uses a lot of energy, no doubt about that. With an estimate of 127.70 terawatt-hours, the Bitcoin network uses more energy than New Zealand and about the same as Chile to mine BTC.
And although that might sound worrying, it’s nothing compared to the existing banking system, which uses over 650 terawatt-hours of energy per year.
Bitcoin’s energy consumption is being taken out of context, says Kraken’s head of growth Dan Held, who claims it’s more about people not liking the idea of Bitcoin.
What it really comes down to when people don’t like bitcoin’s energy consumption is…they simply don’t like Bitcoin,’ claims Held. ‘And so people that are against crypto think that any energy consumption from Bitcoin is wasteful.’
Dan held debunked the ‘Bitcoin is a waste of energy’ myth in a recent tweet storm.
The Bitcoin OG stressed that everything in the world requires energy, and as technology advances, the amount of energy needed to power that technology will inevitably increase.
Dan Held mentioned how the Industrial Revolution has replaced manual labor and helped society create an economy ‘not on money, but on work and energy.’
‘In the last few hundred years, we built great machines which produced work. Both machines and nature produce work through the utilization of energy (first law of thermodynamics). We have an economy based not on money, but on work and energy.’
Kraken’s head of growth used data from ourfiniteworld.com to show how global GDP had followed the growth in energy consumption to further his point.
And Held pointed out that the ‘cost of any good largely reflects the energy used in producing it’, while claiming money represents stored value of the work required to make the goods.
And while the fud brigade will claim we have the dollar, pound or euro for that, they are clearly missing the point. Government money isn’t stored value, because it comes free and is debased whenever a government chooses to make more.
Bitcoin Is Good For The Environment
Not only is Bitcoin stored value of all hard work done to create it, the actual energy used to mine bitcoin is largely renewable energy, or what would have been wasted energy.
Most large Bitcoin mining firms are set up next to energy plants, which must have spare energy just in case there is a blackout. This energy used to be wasted, because it was hardly ever needed but had to be there just in case.
Now, companies can sell that former wasted energy to Bitcoin miners, as can energy companies who capture gas flaring. When natural gas is mined, a portion of the gas is flared into the air, which is extremely bad for the environment.
Bitcoin miners are setting up mining farms next to these to capture the flare and use it for energy, preventing it from being released into the open air and using it to mine Bitcoin.
So this wasted energy is now being sold cheap to Bitcoin miners who can turn it into value.
Bitcoin Speeding Up Renewable Innovation
According to a report by the University of Cambridge, ’76% of digital currency miners use renewable power sources’, and now that renewable energy can be converted into value, it’s speeding up renewable innovation.
Renewable energy sources such as hydropower, wind, and solar energy have always been more expensive than burning fossil fuels.
Electricity doesn’t travel far or last long so it was previosuly wasted energy. So, investing in renewable and green innovation has always been ignored by most parts of the world.
But now with a good reason to turn energy into money, anywhere that gets guaranteed sunshine or blustery weather can and are now innovating and building giant energy plants, and turning that into value by mining Bitcoin.
Haters Gonna Hate, But Bitcoin Mining Isn’t A Waste Of Energy
It’s impossible to please everyone, and haters are always going to hate. If they don’t complain about Bitcoin, they will complain about something else to feed their bias.
But Bitcoin isn’t wasteful, and is in fact much more energy efficient than the legacy banking and financial system.
Yes, Bitcoin uses more energy than New Zealand, but how much of the energy our Kiwi friends use is wasted by keeping unused gadgets plugged in? A fair amount, no doubt.
Bitcoin mining doesn’t waste any energy because every single particle of energy is stored in value in the Bitcoin network.
And the energy used is mostly what would have been wasted or renewable energy, so let’s put this fud to bed and tell everyone Bitcoin isn’t a waste of energy and is actually good for the environment.
Pablo is a writer at Bitcoin Maximalist. Originally from Spain, Pablo grew up in the UK, and loves clubbing and gaming. Pablo is a keen Bitcoiner and loves to share his wisdom to help spread the good news of Bitcoin.
