It costs less to mine gold than it does to mine Bitcoin

[sell100]

It costs less to mine gold than it does to mine Bitcoin

The inefficiency of mining Bitcoin laid bare… Over the past few weeks, the criticism aimed at Bitcoin mining has grown. Chiefly for the fact that Bitcoin uses a lot of electricity to mine

Read more:
https://www.trackcoinmarket.com/crypto-news/37781/costs-gold-bitcoin

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[dothebeats]

And what does that have to do with bitcoin mining exactly? It might appear that bitcoin mining is far costlier, but is mining gold safer and friendlier to the environment? I don't think so. There had been many deaths and environmental degradation linked to mining gold than mining bitcoin, and it's just not about the cost to mine that matters IMO.

Chiefly for the fact that Bitcoin uses a lot of electricity to mine, leading to suggestions that mining the cryptocurrency alone could have a significant impact on global warming. You can read all about that here.

Greenhouse gases emissions are have been around ever since the first Industrial Revolution started, and it's not as if bitcoin mining would be the sole contributor to these emissions. There are tons of industries that emit more harmful chemicals and gases in the air than ASICs using electricity to mine bitcoins and giving off heat. Instead of focusing on lowering the amount of electricity an industry uses, why not focus on generating cleaner energy that's sustainable for the future?

[jseverson]

So...what now? Bitcoin mining was never designed to be efficient. It's more secure the more inefficient it is, even. Things are working as intended.

If people are trying to say that it's a waste because you don't even gain gold at the end of it (this was implied within the article), then that's a completely subjective argument. Even most pollution concerns are grounded on predicted mining growth, not the current mining situation. People are making it into a bigger issue than it actually is.

[eternalgloom]

One thing that they clearly haven't taken into account, is the fact that gold mining causes environmental damage on many other levels as well.
You shouldn't just look at carbon emissions, but also at other forms of pollution caused by gold mining.

In most of the western world, there are pretty strict regulations on how you can mine for gold, but that isn't the case in most of the third world.
There they still use mercury to recover gold, which heavily pollutes the soil.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5129257/ (Heavy Metal Pollution from Gold Mines: Environmental Effects and Bacterial Strategies for Resistance)

Carbon emissions due to high power consumption is something that should be tackled from the root of the problem. Switch over to greener forms of energy production.
IMO we should really have another look at nuclear energy, since it's currently the most cost effective, safest and cleanest form of energy available.

Sources: https://www.zdnet.com/article/nuclear-less-co2-than-solar-hydro-biomass/
https://www.iaea.org/sites/default/files/publications/magazines/bulletin/bull21-1/21104091117.pdf (Is Solar Power More Dangerous Than Nuclear?)

[CryptopreneurBrainboss]

That's a true statement to say mining of gold cost less than bitcoin mining when considering the energy cost. Read online from a reliable source that recent research has proven that it cause twice or even more as much energy to mine $1 worth of bitcoin than gold (other precious metals).   but that research was based only on energy cost, just as the user above me stated

One thing that they clearly haven't taken into account, is the fact that gold mining causes more environmental damage

So this is clearly a matter of choice to choose between (energy cost or bigger environmental damage) for now because I believe in the near future new means will be introduced to tackle this energy cost issue. A technology can't be perfect, it take process for progress to occur and bitcoin is currently undergoing that process and it will come out stronger.

[Pursuer]

That's a true statement to say mining of gold cost less than bitcoin mining when considering the energy cost. Read online from a reliable source that recent research has proven that it cause twice or even more as much energy to mine $1 worth of bitcoin than gold (other precious metals).

if you zoom in bitcoin price chart so much that you are seeing seconds, it can seem like price is shooting up whereas it really is stable!
I say this example because I wanted to say that this comparison is flawed because that is similar to zooming in and not seeing the bigger picture.

the question is not how much it costs to mine $1 worth of gold. the question is how much energy is used to mine gold! lets do a quick calculation.
last year 2500 ton of gold was mined. that is 219,178 ounce per day or 269,786,301 dollar per day. so you are not mining $1 gold per day to spend energy for $1. you are spending energy for $270 million gold per day.
how much bitcoin is being mined per day? that is about $11 million or in other words there is the gold being mined is 24x more and based on that chart it is equal to 6.5 times more energy

[BestSSS]

It costs less to mine gold than it does to mine Bitcoin

The inefficiency of mining Bitcoin laid bare… Over the past few weeks, the criticism aimed at Bitcoin mining has grown. Chiefly for the fact that Bitcoin uses a lot of electricity to mine

Read more:
https://www.trackcoinmarket.com/crypto-news/37781/costs-gold-bitcoin

I don't think that theory makes any sense. Think about how bitcoin mining can be inefficient and harmful more than mining, gold, oil and natural gas. People have been pumping out of the earth for years all that has accumulated in it for thousands of years and all this for their own good. Most of the resources are spent on food, although more than half of the products are simply thrown into the trash.
Electricity production today can be much more efficient than it is now and therefore bitcoin mining can be safe.
All you have to do is switch to alternative energies such as biofuels, wind energy and solar energy. It is necessary to introduce these types of energy and restore the earth's balance only so we can help our planet. Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies will be mined by solar energy and nuclear energy-let's go for it together

[Marial Carter]

As you know, gold is in risk of running  out of . It is difficult for us to mine gold because we should have modern system , and labor can be in danger if they want to get it.

[Vladislav2306]

The efficiency of  Bitcoin mining is absolutely under control of companies that facilitate miners (bitmain for example). Miners really consumpt lot of electricity, but you can't change anything in it. Maybe proff of stake will be the solution:)

[Irvinn]

I don't think this is a problem. Just bitcoin mining will continue to engage those to whom it will be cost effective. If you use solar panels or modern windmills, that is, renewable energy sources, the high energy costs will not be a problem and at the cost of production, gold mining will again be much more expensive than mining Bitcoin.

[Genemind]

Chiefly for the fact that Bitcoin uses a lot of electricity to mine, leading to suggestions that mining the cryptocurrency alone could have a significant impact on global warming.

  Then what would you say to the damage directly done to the environment because of gold mining. Bitcoin mining can utilize natural energy (hydro, wind, solar energy)to solve or lessen this problem.

Here in our country people are against gold mining due to the damage it does to forests and mountains which had caused flash flloods and land slide which had put people on danger.

[flying_bit]

It costs less to mine gold than it does to mine Bitcoin

The inefficiency of mining Bitcoin laid bare… Over the past few weeks, the criticism aimed at Bitcoin mining has grown. Chiefly for the fact that Bitcoin uses a lot of electricity to mine

Read more:
https://www.trackcoinmarket.com/crypto-news/37781/costs-gold-bitcoin

If you'll do illegal mining, ofcourse yes it's gonna cost you less than bitcoin mining but if you'll do a legal gold mining and follow all the rules and regulation and apply to respective government agencies and follow safety hush hush then believe me you will absolutely know why gold is very expensive. I know coz I do researched on Gold mining here in the Philippines .
As for Bitcoin mining, well I think it depend on what country you're in and cost of electricity on that country and ofcourse there's already solar energy so you have option.

[Janation]

That's a true statement to say mining of gold cost less than bitcoin mining when considering the energy cost. Read online from a reliable source that recent research has proven that it cause twice or even more as much energy to mine $1 worth of bitcoin than gold (other precious metals).   but that research was based only on energy cost, just as the user above me stated

One thing that they clearly haven't taken into account, is the fact that gold mining causes more environmental damage

So this is clearly a matter of choice to choose between (energy cost or bigger environmental damage) for now because I believe in the near future new means will be introduced to tackle this energy cost issue. A technology can't be perfect, it take process for progress to occur and bitcoin is currently undergoing that process and it will come out stronger.

They are pointing out Bitcoin, but how about aluminum?

They are saying that mining Bitcoin is another reason that will start global warming but not all of the miners are using these source of energy, there are also miners that use solar energy. Bitcoin has 19 MJ while Aluminum has 122, with a lot of aluminum in this world, mixing them would be a great energy consumption and people will still blame people for mining Bitcoin?

[Haunebu]

There is some truth to all of this though. We need to combat pollution and reduce energy usage wherever possible. Energy efficiency is the top priority here.

- The factories around the world(Especially 3rd world countries) need to utilize energy efficient methods and a law needs to be imposed in this aspect.
- All current gen ASIC miners need to be replaced with energy efficient ASICs in the future etc.

[Jet Cash]

Washington's attempts to force regime changes, and to promote global eugenics by spreading disease and poisons, causes far more environmental and social destruction. Leave Bitcoin alone, and get rid of the deep state.

[dentolas]

Do you really believe that? There are so many fake news out there that we need to start by thinking a bit just before believing it...
How could mining gold have less cost than mining bitcoin?
Gold can be mined in several ways, and on the easiest, they dig massive holes, and wash all the dirt to separate it from gold... if we take into account the landscaping, fuel and electrical consumption, massive machinery, manpower, etc.... is it possible that this is less expensive than setting up a few ASICs?
And how about the blasts? or the places where gold is embedded in other rocks and they use deadly chemicals to extract it (mercury if I am not mistaken) - ending up in water flows?
Which methods and examples are being used to consider the 1$ gold production cost?

So, let's say that these guys are only speaking about energy cost, and I will say only 3 things:
- energy cost to produce $1 worth of BTC - is this considering prices in December 2017, or August 2018, or when?
- how may large mining facilities run on renewable energy? how many small mining facilities run on renewable energy? I don't have the direct answer to this, but checking the renewable energy developments in some countries and the constinued rise of hashrates, we can get some clues...
- energy cost on gold extraction is by far the lesser problem... and on BTC is the ONLY problem

So, how many gold mining facilities, or production plants run on renewable energy?

[pakhitheboss]

Mining Gold requires a lot Human resource and energy. Mining Bitcoin only requires energy. Both emit a lot of Green House gases and Gold mining destroys the natural habitat.

An Individual can mine Bitcoin and make a decent living, where as Gold mining requires a lot of Human resource.

So, why compare it when you know both are different.

[BADecker]

Time to get one of those Australian metal detectors... you know, the ones that can distinguish between gold and other materials 8 feet into the ground... and start checking out the old gold mines in the world.

Why do this? To get enough gold to buy more Bitcoin, of course.

[beaxchange]

The amount of energy required to "mine" one dollar's worth of Bitcoin is more than twice that required to mine the same value of copper, gold or platinum. One dollar's worth of Bitcoin takes about 17 megajoules of energy to mine.

What makes Cryptocurrency mining this expensive?

1. The exponential growth in mining price is a consequence of rising hash rate, which is a measure of miners' performance.
2. Hash rate adjustments can make Bitcoin mining exponentially more energy intensive.
3. As the hash rate increases the chances of computing the mathematical puzzle required to earn bitcoin also increases but along with it, the amount of energy needed to run a bitcoin mining too surges upward.

Mining is a process equivalent of a government printing new currency and apart from knowing its mining cost; it carries an entire process of releasing new Bitcoins.
 
You can learn more regarding the mining practices from the blog, which was suggested to me once and is very useful:
https://www.altcoinsidekick.com/bitcoin-basic-blog/a-simple-guide-to-understanding-bitcoin?rq=bitcoin%20mining

[hatshepsut93]

And yet people still mine Bitcoin, because it's fairly easy to setup an operation once you have a place with cheap electricity - compared to precious metals, when you have first to find the deposits, then get permits, pay the fees, rent equipment and so on.

Also, this relative inefficiency is a good thing, because it forces miners to improve their energy efficiency, by finding places with excess electricity. Bitcoin mining is a great candidate for making renewable source like wind and solar more economically attractive by using their surplus electricity.

[Mike Mayor]

It might cost less energy but it probably costs a lot more for the equipment then bitcoin. You also not guaranteed anything with gold mining. You need to add in all costs to work this out and you need to add in that gold mining does just use the energy it also destroys the environment and can be hazardous to your health and noone has died mining bitcoin but olebty have on mining expeditions.  

Interesting topic btw. I also so many people are interested and have a lot to say. Comments are interesting, to say the least.

[Aptekary]

First of all, it is necessary to mention that the opportunities to extract bitcoin are available for every person in the world, but to extract gold, it is difficult not only because of the lack of resources, but also because of the lack of a personal source as such.  For bitcoin you only need equipment and knowledge.

[AjithBtc]

One thing that they clearly haven't taken into account, is the fact that gold mining causes environmental damage on many other levels as well.
You shouldn't just look at carbon emissions, but also at other forms of pollution caused by gold mining.

In most of the western world, there are pretty strict regulations on how you can mine for gold, but that isn't the case in most of the third world.
There they still use mercury to recover gold, which heavily pollutes the soil.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5129257/ (Heavy Metal Pollution from Gold Mines: Environmental Effects and Bacterial Strategies for Resistance)

Carbon emissions due to high power consumption is something that should be tackled from the root of the problem. Switch over to greener forms of energy production.
IMO we should really have another look at nuclear energy, since it's currently the most cost effective, safest and cleanest form of energy available.

Sources: https://www.zdnet.com/article/nuclear-less-co2-than-solar-hydro-biomass/
https://www.iaea.org/sites/default/files/publications/magazines/bulletin/bull21-1/21104091117.pdf (Is Solar Power More Dangerous Than Nuclear?)

I need to make it clear that nuclear power production is not safe, not safe and not a way to keep our environment cleaner. It might be the cost effective way, and I've seen the effects of nuclear power production impacts over human beings as well over the fishes. The solution I prefer is production of power through solar plants which seems to be the better and the finest way. Carbon emissions from the large scale mining farms will also be very high, a better power source without harming the environment needs to be innovated.

[Gibreil]

In some point it may be true. But let us take a look on the supply of gold, is it numerous that it can be easy to mine? It may be cost less than mining bitcoin but it is difficult to find. Gold is just a resemblance of mining in bitcoin. Therefore, it is not right to compare mining in bitcoin and mining a gold literally.

[chanler]

Do you mean mining gold directly from the earth? I think that it may be very expensive when there is no gold resource in your country. Or you don't have any skill or right for mining gold. Mining gold is actually also very difficult and not everybody can do it. But if you mean that buying gold, it may be true.

[Dreamchaser21]

In some point it may be true. But let us take a look on the supply of gold, is it numerous that it can be easy to mine? It may be cost less than mining bitcoin but it is difficult to find. Gold is just a resemblance of mining in bitcoin. Therefore, it is not right to compare mining in bitcoin and mining a gold literally.

The supply of gold is undetermined and that's why its value is still less compare to bitcoin which is only have limited supply. Bitcoin and gold mining are both costly because you have to get advance technology for you to mine, especially on gold which requires a lot of force work while bitcoin can be mine with minimal personnel.

[Yaunfitda]

But it is also very expensive just to buy gold right?

But the main point here is how are you going to profit? If mining gold cost less then I'm sure your profit will be less as well.

As compare to bitcoin wherein you need a lot of computing power to mine, but in the long run the rewards are very fulfilling as it might give you a better ROI than gold.

[Sithara007]

You are not considering the actual cost of gold mining. Here is a bit of information for you:

https://www.survivalinternational.org/news/12158

Gold mining have been devastating the tropical rain-forest and causing irreversible damage. It is causing mercury poisoning to the indigenous people who live in the forest. Many of the indigenous tribes are getting wiped out due to the genocides being perpetrated by gold miners. And this is happening not just in Brazil, but also in other countries such as Venezuela and Peru as well.

[AmoreJaz]

You are not considering the actual cost of gold mining. Here is a bit of information for you:

https://www.survivalinternational.org/news/12158

Gold mining have been devastating the tropical rain-forest and causing irreversible damage. It is causing mercury poisoning to the indigenous people who live in the forest. Many of the indigenous tribes are getting wiped out due to the genocides being perpetrated by gold miners. And this is happening not just in Brazil, but also in other countries such as Venezuela and Peru as well.

thats right! mining gold is not for all. the initial investment is high that not everybody can afford of. aside from that, you should have sufficient knowledge when it comes to gold mining.
bitcoin mining is different. you can mine btc even under your mom's basement or practically everywhere as long as you have the source of energy.

[Broly46]

It’s a flaw argument, you think bitcoin mining never create pollution other than carbon footprint? All the mining equipment used to mine gold, chemicals, tools, the process of devastating the environment to detect gold, blah blah etc. You think bitcoin did any better? All the equipment used to mine bitcoin bitcoin miners, come at the cost of environment destruction, the chemical used to produce the miners, the rare earths used inside the miners, they’re all contribute to earth destruction. Bitcoin is not greener tech than anyone think they’re, of course you can argue we can go back to CPU mining and our operation can be greener by using greener mining process and avoid using mining equipment from the illegal sources, we can also argue there’s greener way to harvest gold too, but people want profit out of everything else, they are willing sacrifice anything to get some profit out of the hard work, and going greener operation will add to more cost to the profit that can be made, yes, going greener is going to cost more money, in these level, I can assume gold mining is more profitable than all the idiots who mining bitcoin with all the resources available to the world, ok some argue gold mining make up more amount of money per day compare to bitcoin, roughly 5-10x more marketcap and thus more pollutions, don’t forget we got thousands of crypto that’s mineable, while we have only less than 300 mineable minerals in the periodic table, you can argue we can mine all the minerals in the world and still produce more pollution, in the end, crypto mining is highly scalable, it’s not limited to bitcoin only, and not limited to periodic table too, you try to combine all the bitcoin eth lite coin monero blah blah mining and compare it to gold again? Then you want to preach proof of stake, yeah, it’s full of flaws, I’m going to sleep now.

[Kakmakr]

Ok, if we are going to cherry pick statistics, then why not measure something that money cannot pay for.... "A total of 40 workers were killed in accidents in gold mines last year...." South Africa. - Source : https://city-press.news24.com/Business/gold-sector-still-leads-in-mine-deaths-20190301

People are worried about rubbish like this, but they forget how many lives has been lost in mining for precious metals and these lives cannot be replaced with any amount of money!

The waste water of these mines are killing loads of animals and plants and some people too, but that is nothing... right? So, is the electricity used for Bitcoin mining really that destructive or are they just looking for a stick to bash Bitcoin?   

[MonsterV]

Why do many people prefer to mine bitcoin? the answer is because not everyone can mine gold, maybe only people who have large companies and capital can mine gold.

But mining bitcoin is relatively easier, there are no complicated requirements to mine gold, there are no permits or that. We only need computers and VGA, this is very easy.

And another one of the reasons that makes people choose bitcoin is its potential, high volatility in the bitcoin market makes bitcoin go down and rise so fast. So that everyone thinks this bitcoin has a higher up potential.

[Lauren Smith]

Ok, if we are going to cherry pick statistics, then why not measure something that money cannot pay for.... "A total of 40 workers were killed in accidents in gold mines last year...." South Africa. - Source : https://city-press.news24.com/Business/gold-sector-still-leads-in-mine-deaths-20190301

People are worried about rubbish like this, but they forget how many lives has been lost in mining for precious metals and these lives cannot be replaced with any amount of money!

The waste water of these mines are killing loads of animals and plants and some people too, but that is nothing... right? So, is the electricity used for Bitcoin mining really that destructive or are they just looking for a stick to bash Bitcoin?   

Exactly. They only talk about how much energy is used but they don't talk about how it is produced. The energy produced for bitcoin mining us nowhere near as damaging as cutting down forests and destroying nature to make space for huge machines to excavate a dig up all the land leaving a huge landfill and destruction in their wake. It is dangerous as hell to mine and it must be scary too. People die all the time mining it's not even big thing it is to be expected.

[Kakmakr]

Ok, if we are going to cherry pick statistics, then why not measure something that money cannot pay for.... "A total of 40 workers were killed in accidents in gold mines last year...." South Africa. - Source : https://city-press.news24.com/Business/gold-sector-still-leads-in-mine-deaths-20190301

People are worried about rubbish like this, but they forget how many lives has been lost in mining for precious metals and these lives cannot be replaced with any amount of money!

The waste water of these mines are killing loads of animals and plants and some people too, but that is nothing... right? So, is the electricity used for Bitcoin mining really that destructive or are they just looking for a stick to bash Bitcoin?   

Exactly. They only talk about how much energy is used but they don't talk about how it is produced. The energy produced for bitcoin mining us nowhere near as damaging as cutting down forests and destroying nature to make space for huge machines to excavate a dig up all the land leaving a huge landfill and destruction in their wake. It is dangerous as hell to mine and it must be scary too. People die all the time mining it's not even big thing it is to be expected.

They do not mention it, because it does not suit their hidden agenda. The Goldbug forum is a very good example of this, because those people hate Bitcoin. <I frequently visit those forums to troll a bit and they get very agitated when you talk about Bitcoin and Crypto currencies there> 

We have not even touched the water pollution and water usage of these mining operations and the massive fans that are running 24/7 to provide air for the miners. They also run water pumps 24/7 to pump out all the ground water that collect in the shafts and also use a lot of water in the drilling process. 

[maydna]

I don't know how much cost to mine gold but I think it will easy to mine bitcoin than gold because we only need to have electricity and now we have so many options to get the electricity. We can use the other energy to get the electricity so we can start to mine bitcoin or another coin but yes we need to spend a lot of money to buy the hardware. But if we compare the gold price and the bitcoin price, I think people will choose to mine bitcoin than gold because they can see the price will increase in the future. That will be one factor for people to consider which will give them an easy way to mine and if they think that mine bitcoin will easy, then they will choose to mine bitcoin.

[ubay]

Honestly, mining bitcoin is much easier than mining gold. Because mining bitcoin can be done individually or in a company, but if mining gold needs a lot of processes such as legality from the country or important documents so you can mine gold. And the condition is very difficult if done if you do not have a super large capital.

[jademaxsuy]

You may have the point OP, but I think the right answer is depending on the market price movement. Usually higher bitcoin market price means higher bitcoin profit in mining. But, it does guarantee when bitcoin falls down. So, in this case it is good to mine gold than btc but not all the time.

[spacehopper]

But if the bitcoin prize rises you will have great profit.If the bitcoin prize fall below 5K,then the situation coming to when you have to pay more than you can earn. Electricity bills and other bills surely will force you to quit with no profit situation.

[fiulpro]

Well ;
     * You cannot find gold mines everywhere
     * You need to buy the land and get the rights to actually go and mine some gold
     * You need to then pay for the processing of that mined gold .
     * Then comes the fact if that mining was profitable or not , since someplace might just have a small amount
     * It also emmits a lot of pollution

Contrary ;
     * You can just mine Bitcoins sitting at home by buying some mining machine and that would certainly cost less that buying a land

    * You can use renewable sources of energy to equate with that electricity demand

[deisik]

Ok, if we are going to cherry pick statistics, then why not measure something that money cannot pay for.... "A total of 40 workers were killed in accidents in gold mines last year...." South Africa. - Source : https://city-press.news24.com/Business/gold-sector-still-leads-in-mine-deaths-20190301

People are worried about rubbish like this, but they forget how many lives has been lost in mining for precious metals and these lives cannot be replaced with any amount of money!

The waste water of these mines are killing loads of animals and plants and some people too, but that is nothing... right? So, is the electricity used for Bitcoin mining really that destructive or are they just looking for a stick to bash Bitcoin?   

Exactly. They only talk about how much energy is used but they don't talk about how it is produced. The energy produced for bitcoin mining us nowhere near as damaging as cutting down forests and destroying nature to make space for huge machines to excavate a dig up all the land leaving a huge landfill and destruction in their wake. It is dangerous as hell to mine and it must be scary too. People die all the time mining it's not even big thing it is to be expected.

They do not mention it, because it does not suit their hidden agenda. The Goldbug forum is a very good example of this, because those people hate Bitcoin

I used to visit those sites too in the past (Kitco, etc)

Though, honestly, I don't understand their hatred. Does Bitcoin steal value from gold? Unlikely, because these are two very different investment assets (in fact, sitting on the opposite ends of the investment yardstick). Gold is more for those who want to preserve the value of their wealth (gold bugs), while Bitcoin is for those who want to multiply it (via speculation or otherwise). It would be just plain stupid for a gold bug to hate Bitcoin other than for personal reasons (e.g., losing on a Bitcoin investment). If anything, they should be interested in Bitcoin as well as other cryptocurrencies simply because most gold bugs hate fiat. Personally, I like gold but it doesn't have to mean that I hate crypto

[bitbunnny]

It's not surprising that it can cost less to mine gold but the environmental effect of mining gold is just too much handle. Plus, these huge companies who mines gold does not even restore the places that they've mined on. I would still mine bitcoin since it is more valuable and more environmental friendly.

Unfortunately both, Bitcoin mining and gold mining have negative effect on environment. Regarding Bitcoin some alternative energy sources could be the solution but I'm not sure there is some sustainable method when it comes to gold mining.
If I have to choose I would pick Bitcoin mining, new technologies are always looking for new solutions and long term are more profitable and acceptable.

[MonsterV]

Either of the two, both of them has a negative impact on the environment. Mining gold can affect the loss of biodiversity, erosion, and it's just destroying the land. Addition to that are the limited gold. In mining bitcoin, it consumes a lot of energy and create tons of co2 that is obviously bad for the environment. But think objectively, when you mine gold, there are laws regulated by the government regarding it. It's much harder compare to mining bitcoin. There are already a lot of problems in mining because of illegal mining, and it's basically destroying the environment big time. Will you still add to that?

More or less so, in my country there are many mines, especially coal mining. Coal is not much different from gold, where the land must be dredged deep to get what is sought. In fact, I compared the conditions before the existence of gold mining or other mining conditions when the mining had been built, enough to make me sad to see it. Nature that was once green, is now arid and has large holes filled with project trucks that carry mining products.

Mining does not always operate, when the search is started, the mining will be closed. And stupidly, the big holes they dredged up were not closed again which eventually became quite dangerous puddles.

Here I start thinking, why does everyone criticize bitcoin miners, even though bitcoin mining in my opinion is more appreciative of nature. There is no natural damage, I'm sure if the problem is about electricity, in the future there will be new innovations in electricity efficiency. Mining bitcoin is also universal, where everyone can mine without regulation, without the word illegal. I hope that in the future people can realize this and start mining bitcoin.

[prehisto]

It costs less to mine gold than it does to mine Bitcoin

The inefficiency of mining Bitcoin laid bare… Over the past few weeks, the criticism aimed at Bitcoin mining has grown. Chiefly for the fact that Bitcoin uses a lot of electricity to mine

Read more:
https://www.trackcoinmarket.com/crypto-news/37781/costs-gold-bitcoin

Would love to read more about this topic but the paper on this matter is not cheap.
The main question here how they calculated the cost per dollar of gold because there are many different gold mines out there with different yields.

[cramcram21]

It costs less to mine gold than it does to mine Bitcoin

The inefficiency of mining Bitcoin laid bare… Over the past few weeks, the criticism aimed at Bitcoin mining has grown. Chiefly for the fact that Bitcoin uses a lot of electricity to mine

Read more:
https://www.trackcoinmarket.com/crypto-news/37781/costs-gold-bitcoin

Yeah sure but it cost more work to mine gold than to mine Bitcoin.
And not to mention that it would take sometime and a lot of worker just to mine gold than to mine a crypto.
And you could mine crypto anywhere you just have to set up your mining rigs and have an internet unlike gold you need to find some spot to work efficiently.

[worldofcoins]

I don't think this is a problem. Just bitcoin mining will continue to engage those to whom it will be cost effective. If you use solar panels or modern windmills, that is, renewable energy sources, the high energy costs will not be a problem and at the cost of production, gold mining will again be much more expensive than mining Bitcoin.

Renewable energy actually does make it much better compared to mining with paid electricity. Coming to the gold mine, In future, it will be done by machines.
So yes you can say for now you can say.
Mining Gold < Mining Bitcoin (With electricity) && Mining Gold > Mining Bitcoin (With Solar Panel)

[Bitcoinqubit]

It costs less to mine gold than it does to mine Bitcoin

The inefficiency of mining Bitcoin laid bare… Over the past few weeks, the criticism aimed at Bitcoin mining has grown. Chiefly for the fact that Bitcoin uses a lot of electricity to mine

Read more:
https://www.trackcoinmarket.com/crypto-news/37781/costs-gold-bitcoin

its done to make it more decentralized rather centerlized which mean if it was easy to generate bitcoin it wass contolred by big boys only...

alot of the move to solar power

[Bitcoinqubit]

It costs less to mine gold than it does to mine Bitcoin

The inefficiency of mining Bitcoin laid bare… Over the past few weeks, the criticism aimed at Bitcoin mining has grown. Chiefly for the fact that Bitcoin uses a lot of electricity to mine

Read more:
https://www.trackcoinmarket.com/crypto-news/37781/costs-gold-bitcoin

its done to make it more decentralized rather centerlized which mean if it was easy to generate bitcoin it wass contolred by big boys only...

alot of them move to solar power

[coinbitcoin91]

First of all, it is necessary to mention that the opportunities to extract bitcoin are available for every person in the world, but to extract gold, it is difficult not only because of the lack of resources, but also because of the lack of a personal source as such.  For bitcoin you only need equipment and knowledge.

I begin to doubt that we can have gatherings. Therefore, I propose to recall the proven for years, the exchanger Indacoi. I think you will like the convenience of the application.

[antisocial77]

the fact is crypto haters manipulate people with those lies.first off all, how can we mine gold? is it possible? but we can all mine bitcoin if we want with buying not so expensive pc or mining stuffs.

[Schirer]

Completely not true.
First of all, it is very very difficult to compute such thing.
Yea, you can take some huge mine and calculate the resources needed, but then you have to include the price swings also the resources needed to move and sell the gold.

Not to mention countless other factors impacting gold mining, the human cost , the deforestation, the mercury poisoning, tribe wars, corruption environmental damage from other chemicals and so on.

[HELLOFF]

Of course, today anyone can mine Bitcoin, because this activity is much simpler and more affordable for every inhabitant of our planet, unlike gold mining.  You can mine Bitcoin at home, equipped even in the basement with an appropriate farm, but in order to do gold mining you need to not only travel to the appropriate country, but you also need to get certain permissions.

[killat]

Even when the gold standard was a thing though, have you ever considered why gold is expensive? Easy one, because it's hard to find. But how we determine the exact price of gold? We don't, we just decide it.

Gold, paper money, bitcoin, oil, stocks, all tradeable assets can be and are manipulated by the big players so that they can profit. Markets are like poker in a way. How much does a pair of eights cost? If you have 10$ worth of chips and 3 people before you raised you are most likely folding. But if you are the chip leader you are definetely playing a pair of 8s, you decide how much they cost and, most likely, profit from them.

[Pepz79]

Bitcoin mining's getting more and more expensive

[pixie85]

Try mining gold without harming the environment. You can't even if it will cost you less. Also you can't mine gold just like that. Most places where you can do it already belong to someone.

If you mine bitcoin using renewable energy like it was mentioned by several people in this thread you are doing it cheap and without harming the environment. Sometimes cheap vs expensive is not the only thing that matters.

[Herbet Fry]

Try mining gold without harming the environment. You can't even if it will cost you less. Also you can't mine gold just like that. Most places where you can do it already belong to someone.

If you mine bitcoin using renewable energy like it was mentioned by several people in this thread you are doing it cheap and without harming the environment. Sometimes cheap vs expensive is not the only thing that matters.

Yep. Then you still need to pay wages and buy safety equipment then have engineers to maintain and repair everything so you don't get sued. You have to provide medical care as part of the contract for workers as well most likely. You need to buy land and hope there is gold on it. When mining bitcoin you know it is a guarantee that you will mine something but with mining gold there is no guarantee that you will mine even 1 single gram.

[Schirer]

Right. I would add here only one important thing for all people. This is a simple comfort. You do not have to be a miner in a traditional understanding of the world. Yes, you will have to pay for the equipment, but further, you will earn constantly. It is worth doing, and in a year, it starts bringing your profits as the expenses are already covered.

It is not as easy as you think, the ASICS are very expensive and very small of population can actually afford it.
On a side note, in my country ASICS are banned, i kid you not.. they found that they are emitting unsafe radiation levels and are considered not safe.

[jake zyrus]

It costs less to mine gold than it does to mine Bitcoin

The inefficiency of mining Bitcoin laid bare… Over the past few weeks, the criticism aimed at Bitcoin mining has grown. Chiefly for the fact that Bitcoin uses a lot of electricity to mine

Read more:
https://www.trackcoinmarket.com/crypto-news/37781/costs-gold-bitcoin

But mining gold is not as easy as bitcoin. Mining gold needs man power and also equipments. And you cannot just mine gold if you feel like to. There's a lot of process needed to be done in order to mine gold. You have to go through the government sectors. The damage that mining gold can cause in the environment, is much heavier than bitcoin.

You say, it cost 'less', but there are a lot of factors need to be consider also not just the cost.