Bitcoin Forum

Some people who don't like Bitcoin have been criticizing it. They say Bitcoin mining uses too much energy and harms the environment. But often, these critics are supported by other digital currency teams that want to beat Bitcoin.

Now Imagine a game where people are trying to win by looking good and saying they care about the environment. They're playing this game in politics. Recently, in New York State, they passed a rule to stop Bitcoin mining. They say it's because they want to stop using dirty fuels for energy (Avoid Pollution). Bitcoin miners and data centers don't actually create pollution. They're not the ones causing the problem. Instead of dealing with the real issue, some politicians are just trying to score points by targeting Bitcoin.

When politicians say one thing but the facts say another, it makes you wonder why they're not on the same page. But regarless Bitcoin mining is winning. Some politicians who don't get it might complain, but entrepreneurs, investors, and operators will keep making progress.

I mean — they technically do, though? But the issue is not the fact that Bitcoin mining creates pollution, but more of the fact that they totally over-exaggerate it as if Bitcoin mining was the main reason; but in fact its effect in the grand scheme of things is minuscule compared to other things.

I'm definitely no environmentalist, but I'm a bit certain that even if Bitcoin wasn't invented a decade ago, our environment would be little to no different.

Bitcoin mining industry size is small in energy consumption to other industries. It won't be a big or biggest problem of green house gases, air pollution or climate change.

Debunking the "Bitcoin is an environmental disaster" argument (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5325350.0)
https://bitcoincleanup.com/
https://endthefud.org/energy
https://ccaf.io/cbnsi/cbeci/ghg/comparisons
Gold mining creates more MtCO2e per year than Bitcoin mining.

All right, it is much more polluting than pressing down a button and printing money, so although many industries are much more polluting, there may not be such an easy alternative for many of them (fiat is not really an alternative, but "explain it to them").

I think that the spreading of that claim is the product of interest groups which are not specially interested in Bitcoin. Interest groups which practically don't get replied by crypto stakeholders, leading to the ignorance of the public.

I will start to worry if the government and media houses stop fighting bitcoin with their constant propaganda.

They are aware of the real environmental hazards but they still try to use dubious means to rope in Bitcoin mining to something as controversial as environmental pollution to decrease public interest in it. This is because they cannot control or regulate it, so they find other ways to fight it.

When miners have less money to spend, they have to consume less power too. So the next Bitcoin halving will reduce Bitcoin's energy consumption. Unless the Bitcoin price goes up more, but eventually halvings will catch up as the price can't keep doubling.

As a miner, I’m worried about something completely different: it’s now impossible to mine Bitcoin at home. Installing 1 ASIC for mining at home, unfortunately, will not allow you to receive much income from mining, and it is impossible to install more ASICs due to limitations in electricity consumption.
examples of ASIC installation in residential apartments
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5461745.msg62823810#msg62823810

There will always be people that are against and subject to what Bitcoin is and where it comes from and how it's generated and that's through mining. Even if you tell them that there are mining farms that uses renewable energies to mine Bitcoin, they won't believe and will even further to argue.

This is a fine thing on this community. We're here to like it no matter what happens and whatever these politicians, entrepreneurs, celebrities and even world leaders tell about Bitcoin.

While they probably have a thing or two that understand some sides of Bitcoin, if they hated it, they'll hate it no matter what.

I do not think this is that simple. It is true that you can ban mining in a state due to environmental legislation, but these farms pay taxes, take loans, and consume paid energy. All of these are advantages that you may find in another state. Even environmental legislation is not universal, and if Bitcoin mining were banned in the United States, the miners would move elsewhere. That state will lose part of the taxes.

What motivates people to do this is profit, and as long as Bitcoin mining is profitable, it will continue despite legislation, and we have oil companies. They harm the environment and are pursued by the media, yet they continue because they are making profits.
Speculators focus on the harms of Bitcoin mining because it contributes to influencing the price.

if the problem is the energy used, I think targeting Bitcoin mining is clearly wrong. Energy consumption may be large but it is also part of the state's energy income that is charged to mining.
if they want to change the energy they use, then what does this have to do with Bitcoin mining? if they talk about the pollution that is occurring, then more large industries will develop there.
I don't think this is a problem of pollution or excessive energy use. This is related to the face of politics and also the imposition of taxes where there may be some parties who are dissatisfied. Maybe their direction will lead to regulation.

If by the way of attack is how bitcoin could be defeated then the government would have long time ago made a tremendous success in raising counter attacks against bitcoin and things would have gone wrong so badly now, but we appreciate the fact that bitcoin is a no tolerance to these, because it's a decentralized digital currency which solely depends on it own network and not the fover controlled central servers, no amount of trials or pressure can come up from other cryptocurrencies or from anywhere that will be able to pull bitcoin down.

So if the price doesn't pump after halving like it always did, there will be a drop in the hash rate. Small miners will be forced to shut down their business and the Bitcoin network will be unsecured. So bull run is necessary after every halving because we need miners to keep mining bitcoin. They will not continue their mining operation if there isn't enough profits for them from mining. Easy math I guess!

I don't think "unsecured" is the right word — just the fact that Bitcoin can be more susceptible to centralization-related attacks; but not necessarily unsecure. Like, even if Bitcoin mining hashrate cuts down to 1/4th of the current hashrate, Bitcoin would still be hella secure(though significantly less).

Yes, that makes sense and besides the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau also frequently warns about the risks of this BTC investment and as the OP said. Mining is another way how users can earn Bitcoins and many miners join mining pools pooling resources and sharing rewards and very liquid digital currency is Bitcoin and it is also worth thousands of dollars.

It's the CDBC crowd who has a stake in this, for whoever controls the money system can generate as much money as they want for themselves and for whatever purpose.

Bitcoin, being decentralized, cannot be controlled by anyone. There are no puppetmasters in Bitcoin, which is a huge win.

Of course, politicians are easily bought because their job is to make policies, they can easily be influenced into passing favorable laws for other people using bribes.

Even if they try really hard to make everyone use CBDCs (Central Bank Digital Currencies), I don't think they can succeed. Bitcoin is built on trust, so it automatically comes out on top. Even if they promote their own centralized currencies like RealUSD or PCCYuan, neither country can trust the other's currency more than they trust Bitcoin. Plus, the world is moving towards super-sized corporations with as much power as governments, all competing with each other. Despite some short-term deals and partnerships, they're all ultimately trying to outdo each other for profit. While Facebook might want everyone to use FacebookCoin, rival companies won't trust something that can be easily controlled by a competitor. Bitcoin gains trust from people naturally.

I wonder how much energy is wasted by talking and attacking Bitcoin. It must use a lot of computer power, and waste a load of politicians time.

Have you noticed that the "green" new deal stuff is all about destroying green things and turning them brown or grey.

Great point Jet Cash. I mean people are spending their resources to cry about Bitcoin Mining meanwhile companies are spending and investing in Mining assets to earn more Bits which is equivalent to more money. People who are willing to go on any edge just to degrade Bitcoin are those who will never understand the concept or they don't want to because they are envy of others who were able to invest at such a good price. Michael Saylor used to be a bitcoin hater too, what happened with him then? we all know.

In my opinion, this mining problem will continue to be f* a hot topic, especially among political people including the pollution problem. They might be scared that Bitcoin can replace the dollar or something else like they didn't buy early so creating bad news gives them time to buy or see Bitcoin isn't really useful and Bitcoin topi can easily be a hot topic and very flammable  :P


Yes definitely a lot of energy besides that they should have another topic to discussed that have a big urgently

Bitcoin mining like other economic activity consumes electricity and contributes to environmental pollution. But because of the disdain the government has for bitcoin, its contribution to pollution is exaggerated. This negative campaign against bitcoin mining is to paint it as the villain thereby discouraging people from investing in the sector. Most of the research funded by the government to investigate the extent bitcoin mining contributes to the environment is predesigned to indict Bitcoin. However, there has been increase in bias-free researches that has proved that bitcoin doesn't consume as much electricity nor affect the environment as it is was generally believed. Some of them include

Research: Bitcoin Consumes Less Than Half The Energy Of The Banking Or Gold Industries (https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/research:-bitcoin-consumes-less-than-half-the-energy-of-the-banking-or-gold-industries)

Bitcoin mining isn’t nearly as bad for the environment as it used to be, new data shows (https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.cnbc.com/amp/2021/07/20/bitcoin-mining-environmental-impact-new-study.html)

Bitcoin Good for the Environment As Sustainable Energy Count Rises to 52.6% (https://www.binance.com/en-NG/feed/post/282557)

Mining is profitable for those who can mine Bitcoin properly. It is wrong to think that Bitcoin mining can be done only if you have some knowledge about mining. Before starting Bitcoin mining you need to calculate the amount of money you will spend on mining whether buying BTC with that amount will get you more BTC than mining or less BTC than mining. Mining usually requires high amount of electricity, if the electricity price in your area is low then you are welcome to mining because you can make profit in mining but if you think electricity price is high in your area then you should avoid Bitcoin mining. Bitcoin mining with high electricity cost will make you loss instead of profit.

Compared to other activities, Bitcoin mining doesn't contribute significantly to pollution.
I agree with the speculations that many politicians and people who oppose Bitcoin are simply afraid of it, possibly because it could disrupt their businesses. Indeed, energy consumption is one of the challenges of Bitcoin mining, but companies are making efforts to address it by switching to renewable energy sources to power their operations.
Let's also hope that more efficient mining hardware will be developed in the coming years; this would significantly reduce the energy consumption of Bitcoin mining.

Politicians are not in the business of facts, data, and being right. They are in the business of telling people what they need/want to hear in order to get votes. Once they are elected, they couldn't care less about truth, facts, or data. They are accountable to nobody and can do what they please. I have a feeling that as soon as BlackRock or one of these massive corporations has an ETF approved, the narrative about Bitcoin's energy consumption will completely change and all of the sudden it will be all about "supporting renewables" or "maximizing green energy" or something that lines the pockets of the ultra rich cantillonaires while feeding the masses whatever lies they need to hear.

Bitcoin mining is winning because it provides an honest incentive to anyone in the world with access to electricity at a price worth mining. As long as that incentive exists, then we will continue to win as each new block is mined.

They only use that issue so that they can crumpled the operation if bitcoin but those people didn't succeed since many are still interested about mining.

To many cause pollutants in environment and for sure bitcoin mining doesn't give any huge effect compare to those companies who release carbon monoxide and other harmful chemicals. Also the transportation industry where cars contribute a lot of damage so its unfair that those people criticizing bitcoin mining didn't consider all major factors that destroy the environment.