Can actually Bitcoin be good for the environment?

[Sealis]

Everything and anything can be good and bad to the environment. Its just how the way we manage it can this idea change. The huge usage of electricity of mining of btc right now is huge sure, but improvement can never come without sacrifices. There should come a time where mining could get an alternative or it could manage to improve itself where it uses less resource.

[denzkilim]

A lot has been said about mining and about the electricity consumption of the activities related to bitcoin mining. However, I have thought of the alternatives and how other systems produce not just energy waste, but also plenty of useless work and "human waste".

To have a network that can ensure the completeness of transactions, the global accessibility and all the features that bitcoins, and many alts, have at the moment, would probable produce a huge carbon footprint. Just think of the VISA system or the banking system... the amount of people working on it, the waste of commuting to works, the infrastructure.

Thinking of all that, would you still say Bitcoin is bad for the environment?

No i don't think so. Even without bitcoin the world is already changing to a compiter technology. Even the small children or even infant uses electricity for their gadgets. Bitcoin is just a part of this technology. Its the plastic waste that are causing harm to our environment.

Very well said, It's correct to say that almost everyone in this world uses electricity not everyone but the majority of the people, especially those who live in the cities uses electricity and this is part of the innovation of our lives that makes it easier for us to live. There are alternative ways to get clean energy for example; we can use hydro energy that comes from the running water or wind energy that obviously comes from the flow of air lol and also solar energy that comes from the sunlight all of this are the good energy sources that produce no waste or less waste and 100% ecologically friendly.  

[Ridwan Fauzi]

As a new technology system will definitely have positive and negative impacts, yes I agree to someone who says bitcoin consumes large amounts of electricity and that has never existed before, but this will end considering the number of bitcoins that have not yet been mined will be completed in 2021, this indicates after 2021 the use of electricity will return to normal. However, you have to look at the positive side that will be generated with bitcoin, as a simple transaction system and can also be used as an investment and trading system that will provide benefits for its users, and of course this will continue to exist even though bitcoin is finished in the mine.

[taivan11]

I dont think bitcoin is being more good than being bad to the environment since mining bitcoin require a lot of energy.

[adjong]

for me it's good to have a bitcoin either because if we use the payment for everything we buy is bitcoin we will not use paper money to prevent it from garbage that will spread to our environment

[TANGERE]

Bitcoin has nothing to do with condition. Power-plants are the individuals who contaminate the earth not bitcoin. So on the off chance that we go to more earth well disposed methods for making electric power, we will have issue unraveled. Bitcoin ranches don't require excessively space, additionally that space around it could be utilized for delivering electric power for that mining ranch. Place some sun oriented boards or some breeze turbines and there you go. Everybody glad. Just individuals that need to see bitcoin fizzle will state that bitcoin is awful for control industry...

[wasdconcac]

Depending on how we use them, so be a truly smart investor that takes full advantage of the bitcoin exploit. This is a very secure environment, and the only mistake is coming from the user so still. Be careful in dealing. Risk can always happen and how we see it. So I have the opposite question whether this environment is good enough for you?

[kauban2018]

Actually Bitcoin can still be good to the environment if people will just think positively and consider the good and bad side of the business. People must not just think for their oen sake but to others as well. They should be fair in all other aspects.

[OSYA]

The positive thing about a bitcoin that it is a digital coin. Comparing with the regular money it doesn't require printing that saves trees, energy, and human labour. Doesn't look that bad to me. The environment benefits with a bitcoin.

[Zabzab9]

A lot has been said about mining and about the electricity consumption of the activities related to bitcoin mining. However, I have thought of the alternatives and how other systems produce not just energy waste, but also plenty of useless work and "human waste".

To have a network that can ensure the completeness of transactions, the global accessibility and all the features that bitcoins, and many alts, have at the moment, would probable produce a huge carbon footprint. Just think of the VISA system or the banking system... the amount of people working on it, the waste of commuting to works, the infrastructure.

Thinking of all that, would you still say Bitcoin is bad for the environment?

I think Bitcoin cannot produce or contribute to the environmental issue. However, Bitcoin procedures considered as one of the sign about industrialization and modernization but its development only done inside the internet. Thus, Bitcoin operation is rather really helpful for our environment. As the digital currency continues to improve the internet as the field of knowledge, it allows to generate informations about protecting the nature. Also, the budgets produced by this procedures may also contribute to the maintenance of our natural world.

[killerfrost]

Are not. I think that bitcoin is bad for the environment. Exploitation, bitcoin trading has consumed a large amount of electricity in the world. The bitcoin extraction causes the temperature to heat up.

[cahbagus555]

I am always thinking, bitcoin can be good for environment. Electricity capacity used for bitcoin is not more than 3% from total capacity and i am believe bitcoin dont give bad effect to environment

[Gogosialver]

Bitcoin can affect the environment in the sense that it need to use so much energy when you are mining Bitcoin. In my own opinion it can be good also in the future if all people will use digital currency like bitcoin instead of cash.

[amber deposit]

Can not the current banking system use more electricity than Bitcoin. Proof of work does not necessarily mean "wasted" electricity - important for security - but does not pretend electricity is not used. Miners are increasingly adopting alternative energy sources to exploit to limit the environmental impact of bitcoins. Like mining and other sources of energy generate radiation.

[gusnulyadi]

Yes, it can be ascertained that Bitcoin is good for the environment. It does not have an adverse effect on the environment. Hopefully providing electricity for mining Bitcoin has several effects on the environment.

[Violettochka]

It's an interesting question because it has many sides and opinions. I think apart from mining (because of usage of electricity) BTC can really help people with solving environmental and social problems.

[winterland]

Many people are worried about that but one thing that you need to consider is that technically everything is bad for the environment, every single industry in the world is bad for it, what we really need to ask ourselves is if bitcoin is worth the degradation of the environment? And taking into account that bitcoin is the best currency in the entire world I'll say that yes it is worth it.

[KonstantinosM]

Bitcoin can be net positive for the environment. Banks are much worse, for a lot of reasons.

Here is my reply from a similar topic, the question was if bitcoin uses too much energy.

No matter how much energy is used for Bitcoin miners, the electricity bill will still be paid by the miners to the state, and there is nothing wrong with this. this news is really exaggerated by some people, because if compared to factories, Bitcoin mining is not comparable, factories use more energy but people never realize that, I think some people want to make Bitcoin look bad.

You are dead wrong. It does matter a lot. Doesnt matter, who pays it - in production cost is too high, its pointless to produce it (once pump&dump is over) and it will be abandoned.

If the price decreases, it won't become pointless to mine. All miners have a different cost base. Miners whose cost of electricity is very high will stop mining. The difficulty of finding blocks will adjust (decrease) and life will go on. Variations in price will definitely not decide the future of Bitcoin as a currency and as a network.

You dont get it, because You think in short term. Halvening lessens reason to do mining exponentially. After 2 halvenings from now on, mining would become pointless EVERYWHERE in world. They also cant hide the cost of mining into transaction fees any further, which are already about 5 times higher, than average stock exchange rates.

By the way: if BTC really became a money, it would happen even faster. But dont worry, it wont... so You from technical point of view You have few years of pump and dumping left. I doubt it goes for economical point of view too tho.

Well, none of you are quite right.


While it matters how much electricity is used, bitcoin is a net positive for our electrical grid, using energy that would largely be wasted.

If the electricity is produced by conventional and dirty means (coal and gas fired plants, nuclear) then we're always overproducing (because we can't just open up a half factory, and we always have to overbuild for population and energy usage growth)

The electricity will most likely be generated anyway, so we might as well use it.

If a lot of people start using a lot of electricity, prices are going to go up, bitcoin mining farms are not essential so they will shut off and people around the world, with cheap electricity are going to ramp up their hashrate.



If the electricity is green, bitcoin is actually subsidizing green energy (an argument Andreas Antonopoulos has made). The infrastructure to either store or transport the electricity away is usually beyond the budget of alternative energy.

The solar panel is going to produce anyway, whether you can store it or transfer it away or not. And if you can't store it or sell it, bitcoin gives you another option to make money with it.


This also applies to homeowners who aren't allowed to sell their electricity.


Therefore bitcoin subsidizes green electricity.

As Andreas Antonopoulos put it "So you're telling me we've been running a green-coin all along?"



Finally there are plenty of reasons to mine after the mining reward from new coins falls to practically 0, the mining fees and also just to keep the network secure. We are all stakeholders after all.

The less mining pools, the more you get out of those transaction fees. If bitcoin becomes huge, the reward may be even bigger than it now is (in terms of real world value rather than bitcoin (purchase power)).

[hotBriX001]

It's an interesting question because it has many sides and opinions. I think apart from mining (because of usage of electricity) BTC can really help people with solving environmental and social problems.

I think bitcoin is invironment friendly because it doesn't involves garbage, pollution or any cases that can be destroyed to our nature. What bitcoin industry mostly involve is true internet and online works which are invironment friendly to every people who are willing to dealt with.

[mornabo]

Are not. I think that bitcoin is bad for the environment. Exploitation, bitcoin trading has consumed a large amount of electricity in the world. The bitcoin extraction causes the temperature to heat up.

electricity is not a bad resource, although it is not good for the environment but the influence of electricity is very helpful for anything, after all there will be new discoveries of how to make electricity environmentally friendly so that when you use electricity to access bitcoin, it won't be bad for the environment