Debunking the "Bitcoin is an environmental disaster" argument

[fillippone]

Video of the Bitcoin Mining Council 22Q1 Briefing:

The video title of link you shared is "Bitcoin Mining Council Q4 2021 Briefing", the correct link for 22Q1 is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uotDxbKJmlo.

Thanks, I fixed the bad link.

Their video also state the slides available on their website, but i couldn't find any relevant page/file.

You should be able to access the full slides deck clicking any of the slides I posted here, as the link is the same.

It is actually in the website: go to their website, scroll to “ BMC Press Releases and Resources” and then click on “Global Bitcoin Mining Data Review - Q2 2022”

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[franky1]

gotta love the Q2 report.. pretending its over 250TW usage
https://bitcoinminingcouncil.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/2022.07.19-BMC-Presentation-Q2-22-Presentation.pdf

253 TWh ENERGY CONSUMED BY BITCOIN MINING ON THE WORLD'S ELECTRIC GRID<sup>2

2</sup>BMC ESTIMATED BITCOIN MINING ENERGY USE (June 30, 2022).

the report says it is sourcing its data from the BMC "estimates"
gotta love a BMC report using itself as its source.....

however.. the BMC "estimates" of said source page.. is saying
https://bitcoinminingcouncil.com/bitcoin-mining-electricity-mix-increased-to-59-5-sustainable-in-q2-2022/

Additionally, year-on-year it is estimated that the global Bitcoin Network’s technological efficiency grew by 46%, from 14.4 EH per gigawatt (GW) in Q2 2021 to 21.1 EH per GW in Q2 2022.

well we know the hashrate for the YEAR was below 210EH average.. but lets extreme the numbers purely for easy math and pretend the year was actually 210EH average all year, just for giggles

210EH all year would be= 10GW an hour
=240 GW a day = 87.6TW a year

yep at most extreme. 87.6TW a year.. not 253

..
heck.. lets run some more math..
at 52.5k blocks per year 328125btc a year
and lets say a 4cent per kw electric
is about $10678.86 in just electric per btc at the giggly extreme rate i mathed

and wait for it.. drum roll....  $30841.90 per BTC at the BMC Q2 reports usage of 253TW .. just for electricity cost

so yea.. their math is wrong on MANY levels.
because if their math was right. and you then add in the hardware cost of mining(asic equipment cost ontop)
it means that the world is all mining at a loss even if they all everywhere mined for 4cents/kw..

..
further math.
so the source of bmc source says its doing 21.1eh per 1GW
so lets work out how they found that 'efficiency'

21.1EH for 1GW
=21,100,000thash for 1,000,000kw
=21,100thash for 1000kw
=21.1thash for 1kw
=95th for 4.5kw

again looks like they are using bad efficiency for 2022
after all we have 140th for 3.01kw in 2022
after all we have 110th for 3.25kw in 2021
after all we have 95th for 3.25kw in 2020
after all we have 56Th for 2.52kw (s17 in apr2019)
after all we have 28Th for 1.59kw (s15 in dec2018)

seems they are average 'estimating' the efficiency that is roughly the s17 from april 2019 batch/time period, but using that as the 2022 efficiency number

[fillippone]

Thanks for the info, i made wrong assumed it's only sorted by latest date. But actually they short by category where it's sorted by category (Press Release followed by Resource), then sub-sorted by latest date.

Indeed, took me a while to realise that.
Fillippone only has an opposable thumb.

Just kidding: it's not that clients are to be blamed for bad UX.

[Stella Mese]

in my opinion bitcoin will not make the environment a disaster, on the contrary bitcoin will be a boon to everyone who needs bitcoin. because so many in this world are helped by bitcoin. including myself. moreover, the world economy is currently unstable or down. so the existence of bitcoin helps a lot for those who are interested in investing in bitcoin. especially now that there are unemployment everywhere, and I see finally because they are no longer working in companies because the world economy is down, and by being forced to leave the company, many of them finally choose to invest in bitcoin. long term or short term investment. and many of them are now successful. and when it comes to electricity, in my opinion, don't blame bitcoin too much. because those who use electricity are a lot and those who use electricity for bitcoin are only a small part of the number of electricity users in the world.

[Bushdark]

Sometimes I just close my eyes and open it to see if my Bitcoin is still there...The attack is too much and I think these people need to leave us alone and allow us enjoy what we are holding. I keep asking myself if it is a crime for us to love what others hate? It is very clear that the government of some regions do not want to see us smile again or keep holding our Bitcoin.

I can see so many agitations and attack against Bitcoin being a bad substance to our ecosystem when their are lots of dangerous gases being generated by industries, motor cars and others that had been causing climate change for ages.
I like to seat down and watch those Bitcoin antagonists...they are really missing from buying the dip 😂

[Daltonik]

At a time when the pressure on bitcoin from the point of view of energy use for its extraction is growing, the Ethereum network has switched to a PoS algorithm and in support of bitcoin as a hard currency, Michael Saylor criticized opponents of bitcoin hiding behind, according to him, misinformation about the harmful impact on the environment of the energy used for bitcoin mining. Posting seven of his "high-level thoughts” about BTC mining and its impact on the environment.

https://twitter.com/saylor/status/1570090411246370816



In short:

1.Bitcoin Energy Utilization: The energy powering the Bitcoin network is the least valuable, cheapest energy reserve left after 99.85% of the world's energy is allocated for other purposes.
2.Bitcoin vs. Other Industries: Energy efficiency of mining ~ 59.5% of energy comes from sustainable sources, and energy efficiency increased by 46% year-on-year.
3.Bitcoin Value Creation & Energy Intensity: Bitcoin has the lowest energy consumption since the cost of production (BTC) is 100 times higher than the cost of energy consumed.
4.Bitcoin vs. Other Cryptos: Comparison of the PoS network with Bitcoin.it doesn't make sense because creating a digital product without an issuer that serves as “digital gold” is an innovation.
5.Bitcoin & Carbon Emissions: 99.92% of the world's carbon emissions are related to industrial energy use, and are not related to bitcoin mining.
6.Bitcoin & Environmental Benefits: Rather, bitcoin is very useful for the environment, since it can be used to monetize natural gas or methane energy sources.
7.Bitcoin & Global Energy: Bitcoin is an egalitarian financial asset offering financial accessibility to everyone, and Bitcoin mining is an egalitarian technology industry offering commercial accessibility to anyone.

More details can be found here: https://www.michael.com/en/resources/bitcoin-mining-and-the-environment

[zander1983]

I think Saylor leaves out the strongest argument for Bitcoin and its benefits to the environment. Fiat money is a claim on energy and materials. These claims are increasing exponentially (they must because of the embedded growth obligations of the modern economy). However, energy and materials are not increasing exponentially, and their growth is actually decreasing (the energy crisis started a decade ago).

Human progress is currently measured in GDP - the amount of stuff we make. GDP and energy are tied 1-1 - GDP can only go up when energy goes up. The fiat claims on energy and materials drive up the incentive to create "stuff", no matter how trivial, because thats currently how human progress is measured, exponentially increasing the cost to the environment (every product starts with a fire burning fossil fuels somewhere).

As the delta between these claims and the underlying physical reality increases further and further, driving more pollution, a reset is inevitable (and has begun). Bitcoin is the ideal candidate as the landing spot for that reset. A bitcoin based claim on energy and materials is much closer to the underlying physical reality of our biosphere, since these claims cannot be exponential(limited amount of bitcoin). We're headed towards the collapse of embedded growth obligation, and a cleaner future based on bitcoin, with much more considered product development, a reduction in the amount of nonsense trinkets produced, and a cleaner environment.

[LegendaryK]

While Bitcoin PoW continues to be an insanely stupid waste of energy resources.

Ethereum has evolved leaving behind the dead-end technology know as Proof of work/Waste.

https://decrypt.co/109848/ethereum-energy-carbon-footprint-down-99-percent-merge

Ethereum’s merge, which transitioned to an eco-friendly consensus model, was successfully completed overnight.
A report from the Crypto Carbon Ratings Institute says that
the network has cut its energy usage and carbon footprint by approximately 99.99% each.

When Btc is banned for refusing to evolve, BTC PoW supporters have no one to blame but themselves.
https://flipboard.com/topic/pollution/limit-or-eliminate-biden-executive-order-triggers-shock-u-s-bitcoin-ban-propos/a-lp2GunLlQ8i1iscosrxElQ%3Aa%3A23460606-dd306aba00%2Fforbes.com

‘Limit Or Eliminate’—Biden Executive Order Triggers Shock U.S. Bitcoin Ban Proposal

BTC, using the energy-intensive proof-of-work consensus mechanism, could be banned in the U.S. under a proposal made by the White House Office of Science and Technology.

[NotATether]

While Bitcoin PoW continues to be an insanely stupid waste of energy resources.

Ethereum has evolved leaving behind the dead-end technology know as Proof of work/Waste.

Once again you arrive with your antics of proof of work being an energy monster that on the verge of being banned, when even Ethereum's own (former) miners disagree with you.

The truth is, banning Proof of Work will immediately kill the following cryptocurrencies:

- Bitcoin
- Litecoin
- Dogecoin
- Monero
- Dash
- Zcash
- The dozens of cyptocurrencies listed here

Do you really think all these guys are going to stand idly or rush to cripple their networks with the market-manipulation-capable PoS while Congress hurriedly wants to put a bullet through their chests?

You'd have to be looney to believe that governmental attempts to kill decentalized mining are going to succeed, since by its very nature it operates worldwide. Better start wearing your Elmer Fudd hunting cap now...

Ethereum chose to shoot itself in the foot. They have freedom to do that if they want.

[LegendaryK]

While Bitcoin PoW continues to be an insanely stupid waste of energy resources.

Ethereum has evolved leaving behind the dead-end technology know as Proof of work/Waste.

The truth is, banning Proof of Work will immediately kill the following cryptocurrencies:

- Bitcoin - DOA
- Litecoin- DOA Considering how ltc price has sucked, it will probably die before it is banned.  

- Dogecoin -Will Live :In the process of converting to Proof of Stake
https://indianexpress.com/article/technology/crypto/heres-why-dogecoin-is-migrating-to-proof-of-stake-consensus-mechanism-7756973/

Here’s why Dogecoin is migrating to Proof-of-Stake consensus mechanism
Buterin confirmed that he was involved in this project, saying that virtually all cryptocurrencies will follow the same steps.  

US has already taken care of privacy coins with FATF.
And the exchanges that want US investment dumped privacy coins already.
https://cryptoslate.com/crypto-money-laundering-rules-to-be-in-place-by-june-says-fatf/
https://cryptoslate.com/bittrex-us-to-remove-the-markets-for-top-privacy-coins-including-monero-zcash-and-dash/

I know you are not a US citizen, so I will explain.
In the US , the sitting President can issue a little thing called executive order.
https://www.phe.gov/s3/law/Pages/ExecOrders.aspx

Executive Orders state mandatory requirements for the Executive Branch, and have the effect of law.
They are issued in relation to a law passed by Congress or based on powers granted to the President in the Constitution

One of the responsibilities of a sitting US president is to Protect the American People and American Infrastructure.
The Loss of a single US power grid caused by PoW mining crashing any of the grids,
could potentially kill millions upon millions of Americans.
Which is why not banning PoW would be dereliction of Presidential responsibility.
https://flipboard.com/topic/pollution/limit-or-eliminate-biden-executive-order-triggers-shock-u-s-bitcoin-ban-propos/a-lp2GunLlQ8i1iscosrxElQ%3Aa%3A23460606-dd306aba00%2Fforbes.com
The White House Office of Science and Technology is recommending to the US President that PoW be Eliminated from the US.
And 1 executive order and btc PoW mining in the US is dead overnight.

Even if the dangers to the power grids were not real, which the danger of grid collapse is real,
the facts that 1 man has the power with a pen and piece of paper to utterly destroy btc , is the largest security risk to btc,
and btc PoW supporters want to hide their heads in the sand and pretend it can't happen,
Not only is PoW going to be banned , the ban is coming sooner than any of us expect.
 

[BlackHatCoiner]

While Bitcoin PoW continues to be an insanely stupid waste of energy resources.

Proof-of-Work is the, yet, unique solution to Byzantine generals' problem. If you, a whining livable little bullshit, don't value this, it doesn't mean others don't. You're the only person who doesn't recognize the disadvantages of Proof-of-Stake, while they have been repeatedly told to you. I'm not going to repeat any; that'd be an actual waste of energy. Stop misinforming newbies. Dialogue isn't for you, we all know it already.

Alright. Back to ignore.

[LegendaryK]

Alright. Back to ignoring reality.

Once PoW mining is banned , coming soon.
BlackHatCoiner will do exactly what he doing now, pretending it did not happen.

But for people that live in this reality,  
well any coin unable to transact is worth zero.
In BTC and Game of Thrones, being a hodler does not end well.  

Let me repeat this, since some people can't grasp it's meaning.
The White House Office of Science and Technology is recommending to the US President that PoW be Eliminated from the US.
And 1 executive order and btc PoW mining in the US is dead overnight.
*That means your btc becomes worthless, literally overnight with just the stroke of a pen.*

FYI: What does Vitalik Buterin think about Proof of Stake?
https://cointelegraph.com/news/pos-will-make-ethereum-more-secure-than-bitcoin-says-vitalik-buterin

PoS Will Make Ethereum More Secure Than Bitcoin, Says Vitalik Buterin

What does Charles Hoskinson think about Proof of Stake?
https://forkast.news/video-audio/iohk-charles-hoskinson-proof-of-stake-better-than-proof-of-work/

IOHK’s Charles Hoskinson says proof of stake is much better than proof of work

What does White House Office of Science and Technology think about Proof of Stake?
https://blockworks.co/white-house-criticizes-proof-of-work-crypto-mining/

According to the authors, the estimated global electricity usage of cryptoasset mining as of August 2022 exceeds the annual electricity usage of countries including Argentina and Australia, sitting roughly between 120 billion and 240 billion kilowatt-hours per year.

High energy consumption will likely lead to disastrous consequences for daily Americans, the White House says, not only exacerbating “climate-driven weather extremes,” but also threatening the stability of electricity grids as it could “push up power prices for local consumers.”

Specifically, the report criticizes the proof-of-work (PoW) consensus mechanism — which currently represents more than 60% of the total cryptoasset market capitalization, stating that “given the electricity usage estimates, most discussions about crypto-asset electricity usage has focused on PoW applications, particularly Bitcoin.”

It reasons that responsible development of digital assets must include solutions to drastically reduce its energy consumption and suggests the “less energy-intensive consensus mechanism, called Proof of Stake (PoS), estimated to consume up to 0.28 billion kilowatt-hours per year in 2021, less than 0.001% of global electricity usage,” could be a viable alternative. 

“There have been growing calls for PoW blockchains to adopt less energy-intensive consensus mechanisms,” the report said. “The most prominent reaction has been Ethereum’s promised launch of “Ethereum 2.0,” which uses a PoS consensus mechanism.”

[cryptosize]

They cannot ban PoW, it's impossible. You cannot ban TCP/IP.

But I guess they can discourage it with crazy high energy prices (€1/kWh).

That's why Bitcoin can shift to other sources of energy:

https://finbold.com/bitcoin-projected-to-become-first-monetary-system-to-hit-net-zero-emissions-by-2024/

Unless the state confiscates private solar panels/wind turbines for the "common good" due to (artificial) "shortage/crisis" of energy? That would be like communism.

[LegendaryK]

They cannot ban PoW, it's impossible. You cannot ban TCP/IP.

But I guess they can discourage it with crazy high energy prices (€1/kWh).

That's why Bitcoin can shift to other sources of energy:

https://finbold.com/bitcoin-projected-to-become-first-monetary-system-to-hit-net-zero-emissions-by-2024/

Unless the state confiscates private solar panels/wind turbines for the "common good" due to (artificial) "shortage/crisis" of energy? That would be like communism.

No one has to ban TCP/IP,  however the 15 Tier 1 companies that control the internet backbone, would block anyone that the world government requested.
US president signs executive order banning PoW, miners are given 30 days to leave the US,
at the end of 30 days, the guys sitting at the power company turn off the power thru the smart meter system to the ASIC warehouses.
PoW in the US is now dead.
China already banned PoW mining , Europe can't keep the lights on now, so their PoW ban is coming.
Literally no other country in the world can supply enough power , so PoW coins will die, as the US bans PoW.

If PoW could survive off of renewables, no one would care, but PoW draws more power 24x7, than any renewable can offer.
So renewables that are not even keeping the normal grid operational, can't keep PoW mining operational.
If renewables were worth a damn,
then the German people would not have to worry about freezing to death this winter because Russia natural gas is not getting to them.

And if you think , you can run an ASIC in your home to keep the network running,
the network difficulty has to be matched, which requires near the same amount of power, your transformer to your house will fry and it still won't be enough to prevent a death spiral , so no new transactions for ~9 months, while the difficulty drops.
And after the 9 months , anyone with access to industrial power can doublespend on the network daily, and their is nothing you can do to stop it.
However exchanges will all drop btc within the 1st 2 weeks of no transactions.

Which if you read the above and understand it, you would realize the biggest threat to btc survival is Proof of Waste.


So any btc supporters that want btc to live,
better start pushing those lazy btc developers to evolve to a New system that does not waste the resources of entire countries ,
otherwise your btc investment will be as dead as Proof of Waste mining.

[cryptosize]

I have a different way of thinking. I don't believe there's a shortage of energy.

BTC will lead us to this eventually. The entire humanity will be grateful to PoW proponents.

[LegendaryK]

I have a different way of thinking. I don't believe there's a shortage of energy.

BTC will lead us to this eventually. The entire humanity will be grateful to PoW proponents.

Dyson_sphere would work,

do you have one?                  Nope!
can we currently build one?    Nope!

Can we ban PoW mining?       Yep!

Guess which option is going to happen.  


FYI:
While a theoretical Dyson_sphere would solve all of our energy needs,
PoW shortage would switch from energy to metals needed to build a never ending supply of ASICS,
meaning their would be no metals left for the people to use. So PoW would still be banned for wasting a different resource.  
*This is why Proof of Waste is a dead tech, it wants to use everything and leave nothing for anyone else.*

[cryptosize]

"will lead us to this eventually"

Guess you have some reading comprehension issues...

I do NOT support cutting down on electricity usage, because it's akin to reducing the population:



Humanity needs higher amounts of energy to progress further. I support progress, not regression back to the Medieval Ages.

I do not support depopulation, but I guess it might happen thanks to useful idiots biting the "muh ecology/save the planet" bait.

I have an abundance mindset when it comes to energy, while you have a scarcity mindset.

The only scarce thing here is the BTC supply cap, definitely not energy!

[cryptosize]

FYI:
While a theoretical Dyson_sphere would solve all of our energy needs,
PoW shortage would switch from energy to metals needed to build a never ending supply of ASICS,
meaning their would be no metals left for the people to use. So PoW would still be banned for wasting a different resource. 
*This is why Proof of Waste is a dead tech, it wants to use everything and leave nothing for anyone else.*

Not really. The universe is abundant with metals, including Gold:

https://robbreport.com/lifestyle/news/rare-psyche-asteroid-worth-way-more-than-the-global-economy-1234577976/

Your problem is called "scarcity mindset", but you can always fix it:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/carolinecastrillon/2020/07/12/5-ways-to-go-from-a-scarcity-to-abundance-mindset/

[cryptosize]

To me, this is another clear example of the huge historical error China made exiting from the mining industry a while ago, and from the whole bitcoin industry recently (apparently)

Calling themselves out of an industry with so many "branches" in such different sectors, and anyway all at the cutting edge of technology, is something that no country can afford. They are leaving huge advantages to the US in this field of development.

China has made a huge blunder before:

https://twitter.com/Duncan19Sard1/status/1458160064347328516

It's ther loss.

[cryptosize]

Humanity needs higher amounts of energy to progress further. I support progress, not regression back to the Medieval Ages.

I do not support depopulation, but I guess it might happen thanks to useful idiots biting the "muh ecology/save the planet" bait.

I have an abundance mindset when it comes to energy, while you have a scarcity mindset.

The only scarce thing here is the BTC supply cap, definitely not energy!

Talking to you , is like talking to a child, you have not yet developed the ability to reason.

Depopulation is already happening due to the majority of the human race being past child bearing age.

You have a fantasy mindset of a child,
if you are unable to comprehend the numerous articles showing their is an energy supply problem currently through out the world.
Well , it will be all the rougher for you once you finally grow up.

Good Luck , you're going to need it.  

FYI:
Be sure and think about abundance, when your lights go out this winter from the rolling blackouts. 

You were in your dad's testicles when I was programming computers, kiddo.

You're the useful idiot I was talking about... endorsing an artificial energy crisis.

We could have had cheap nuclear energy by now, but no, useful "green" idiots like you have to protest.

Why? Because the elites want to slow down human population growth (see the chart above). More energy = more population growth. Facts are facts.

Bye kiddo!