How Bitcoin Turns Wasted Energy Into Magical Internet Money

[kaya11]

There are tons of ways o utilize free energy and this mainstream media just don't publicly distribute those information. They are too BS, I think they are protecting their masters from losing control of the world economy. Solar energy is a powerful source to power up digital currency mining. The desert in the middle east are vast and should be utilize. There are thousands of free acres to be a solar farm and yet some government just solely depends on fossil fuels. There are high grounds in some places that could be an energy source using wind, yet they don't act on it, sad but this is the reality.

[Vod]

No such thing as "wasted" energy right now.  We won't have an excess of energy for a few decades yet.

[magneto]

But those caveats aside, the example highlights one of the least-appreciated advantages of bitcoin: Because they can be located anywhere with an internet connection, bitcoin mining operations can take advantage of energy supplies that are impractical for other uses. As explained in depth by Coin Center, the electricity used by bitcoin mining is, contrary to some narratives, not expended on “useless calculations.” The computationally-intensive hashing process is the heart of bitcoin’s distributed security scheme, making it just as important as the (no doubt carbon-intensive) steel doors that guard a bank vault. But, simply by virtue of its flexible location, bitcoin mining can potentially be far more efficient and environmentally friendly than a traditional bank vault.

I still think a lot of people think that the electricity that is put into bitcoin mining somehow "goes to waste".

The reality is that it serves a purpose, just like how energy put into facilitating transactions on networks like Visa or Mastercard serves a purpose. Without this energy input the bitcoin network would be unable to function. And I'd argue that it's much more "green" and has less of a ecological footprint than precious metals mining, which essentially fulfils the same monetary functions to a lesser degree.

I'm not sure whether it's always possible for bitcoin to be using up excess energy on the grid. But ultimately, whether mining is environmentally friendly or not still depends on the source of the energy generation.

[alyssa85]

Here is the latest on this. The province of Quebec in Canada, whose electricty is generated by hydro, has allocated extra electricity for crypto mining:

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-04-29/quebec-keeps-electricity-cheap-for-crypto-miners-under-new-rules

New rules released by the Canadian province’s energy regulator Monday create blockchain as a client category of its own and order utility Hydro-Quebec to set aside an extra 300 megawatt for the industry, on top of 368 megawatts already committed. Applying companies will be judged on four criteria, including the number of jobs created, planned investments and heat recovery plans for the energy-intensive computing process that makes transactions with digital currencies possible.

Regie de l’energie also rejected a proposal by provincial utility Hydro-Quebec to have miners bid for power. Blockchain clients will continue paying one of two tariffs they’ve been offered so far, in most cases the same as large consumers such as manufacturers and data centers.

The decision ends a moratorium that had been put in place to let the province figure out how to deal with requests from the energy-hungry industry. Quebec offers the lowest power rates in North America and saw surging demand. A survey of potential clients by Hydro-Quebec indicated there’s still demand for thousands of megawatts, even after the price of Bitcoin went down last year, spokesman Jonathan Cote said in an interview.

[palle11]

Oh... From the title, I was thinking energy like physical energy, utility invested into bitcoin but wasn't looking in the area of electricity and power until I read the post but then I'm thinking no energy should be estimated to have been "wasted" if without such energy, we won't get to have bitcoin. This new generational asset and investment.

[Betwrong]

No such thing as "wasted" energy right now.  We won't have an excess of energy for a few decades yet.

I think it can be though. Since the OP is talking about "underutilized dams in China and geothermal power sources in Iceland", we can imagine a situation when there are not much businesses/settlements close to the area where the power plant is situated, and transporting the energy to long distance areas does not make economic sense. So, building and operating a Bitcoin mining farm in a close proximity to such a power plant would be indeed, like OP said, utilizing of surplus energy which otherwise would go to waste.

[1Referee]

I still think a lot of people think that the electricity that is put into bitcoin mining somehow "goes to waste".

The reality is that it serves a purpose, just like how energy put into facilitating transactions on networks like Visa or Mastercard serves a purpose. Without this energy input the bitcoin network would be unable to function.

Everything people don't use is by default a waste in their book. If they knew that it secures trillions worth of transactions on a yearly basis, they would look at Bitcoin differently for sure, but what really needs to happen for them to appreciate it, is to have banks implode in their face. Bitcoin then is the only asset left that's portable, divisible, easy to transfer, and gives them a peace of mind because they own it in full.

And I'd argue that it's much more "green" and has less of a ecological footprint than precious metals mining, which essentially fulfils the same monetary functions to a lesser degree.

Not only that, but in African countries people literally die from all the toxic waste that is being dumped in rivers and whatnot. It's sickening how no one gives a shit about what these people go through, and the actual environmental and economical damage Gold mining causes there.

[ausbit]

The rate of energy that is being consumed by Bitcoin is one of the really bad sides of Bitcoin and has been raising alarms globally. It is one of the reasons why some government hates Bitcoin and has decided to ban it from their country. The worst part of it all is that new hard wares keep coming in and lots of miners and large mining farms keeps joining every day. Just like CoinCentral revealed in one of their posts the only solution might Green energy, but let’s see how that’s going to be.

[neonshium]

Oh... From the title, I was thinking energy like physical energy, utility invested into bitcoin but wasn't looking in the area of electricity and power until I read the post but then I'm thinking no energy should be estimated to have been "wasted" if without such energy, we won't get to have bitcoin. This new generational asset and investment.

You’re right though, but I used to see a lot of people complaining about the amount that is being consumed by Bitcoin mining, other cryptocurrency mining are not like that, don’t know why Bitcoin is different. And also I don’t really know what would be the side effects of the mining consuming too much of energy but whatever it is, I hope they look for ways to get it fixed, maybe finding an alternative source to generate power for mining, different from the kind of energy they use now.

[usorin]

I start to believe that there is nothing impossible for Bitcoin, This amazing technology shows value even there were we don't like to look. I wonder what will happen next month regarding this kind of energy.