Why Bitcoin mining isn’t a waste of energy?

[crwth]

The value of Bitcoin is entirely dependent on everyone and what the whales are going to do (we all know this), but when it comes to energy consumption, it's not a waste because many things go to it.

The only way that it wastes energy is by mining through non-renewable energy resources. Most of this would be from fossil fuels and coal power plants that produce electricity, and it is scarce. There's nothing more to it than that.

Yes, it does support the blockchain, etc., but the energy is not as efficient comparing to renewable energy sources. I think everybody who is a hater of crypto is probably going to attack from that angle,. Still, in reality, those operating in the non-renewable energy setup will be at a loss in the long run, so it's technically a waste.

You get a double win when you use renewable energies. Clean and efficient use of energy. No additional waste.

Only waste would be the ones lost in energy conversion processes (the imperfect systems)

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[Macadonian]

I think Bitcoin hash rate could be diverted to something like researching places that need your computing power as well as mine Bitcoin but both at the same time. This would strengthen the argument for proof of work but it is clear that proof of work is the only good algorithm for mining.

[thirdprize]

Bitcoin would work perfectly well if there were just 10 computers in the world processing transactions.  Any more than that is purely greed by the miners and a complete waste of energy.  We are stuck in a useless loop of building faster asics and then buying more of them to try and outdo eachother.  Remember whe btc dropped to $4K and mining stopped being profitable?  Best thing ever for the environment.

Is this true or is there a data to back up that only 10 computers can be used to process the transactions globally? I am not a miner or has any knowledge about the inner workings of mining so I was curious with your claim that it only takes 10 computers to do all the work. I think it doesn't matter that mining stopped being profitable for the betterment of the environment because we are still destroying natural habitats and throwing billions of tons of green house gases in the atmosphere.

In a perfect world, yes.  If there were 10 computers, difficulty would be very low (it is only high as there are soooooo maaaaaany miners) and every 10 mins one of the computers would solve the equation and mine the block.  Simple.  It is only because everyone wants a piece of the action and if you have 100 miners, i need 110 to beat you.  It just becomes a stupid arms race.  POW was a valid argument at the time but I dont think they ever expected it to get this far. 

[herurist]

the fact is it is true that bitcoin has a very large impact, one of which is mining which consumes a very large electricity consumption, but if you think about it it is very worth the results received.
because with the current bitcoin price, I don't think it's a significant problem in mining that consumes a lot of electricity.
the problem is the calculation and the amount of electricity supply that is available today because the longer the electricity used automatically gets bigger and it's more or less a problem in the electricity ecosystem in the future it will be hampered and will speed up the electricity running out.
although on the other hand bitcoin will experience profits in the long run but the power supply will be threatened. and that is a consequence that must be accepted

[konfuzius5278]

Proof of work is the most idiotic consensus algo these days.
Its good for bringing up 50% of the coins, but its time to change.
Those people who support and hold BTC  should get money in their poket.
Miners do a stupid gambling game to earn the next block.
Its not only the waste of electricity its also the thousends of ASIC miners need to run out of service due to higher hash rate each year.

As Satoshi realised, their will be always better mining ways (such as grafic cards) he dissapear. For a good reason.

Who says we need POW to keep BTC value is only addicted to an old relgious thinking.
The worth of Bitcoin will rise, not get lower

And b.t.w in the fork we can make BTC much more scalable

[RainbowKun]

Proof of work is the most idiotic consensus algo these days.
Its good for bringing up 50% of the coins, but its time to change.
Those people who support and hold BTC  should get money in their poket.
Miners do a stupid gambling game to earn the next block.
Its not only the waste of electricity its also the thousends of ASIC miners need to run out of service due to higher hash rate each year.

As Satoshi realised, their will be always better mining ways (such as grafic cards) he dissapear. For a good reason.

Who says we need POW to keep BTC value is only addicted to an old relgious thinking.
The worth of Bitcoin will rise, not get lower

And b.t.w in the fork we can make BTC much more scalable

The reason why Bitcoin has an increasingly strong global consensus is because of the support of the POW mining consensus mechanism. It is the cornerstone of the entire Bitcoin ecosystem, and the Bitcoin ecosystem is therefore unbreakable. Bitcoin mining converts natural energy into electricity, which is then converted into computing power, and computing power is finally converted into Bitcoin, which stores natural energy. Bitcoin is another form of value. POW mining is a solid support for the value of Bitcoin. In exchange for a solid and stable global accounting system. Only in this way can we gain the trust of hundreds of millions of dollars in funds at every turn.

[Vaskiy]

Mining consumes high energy, just because of that it isn't waste of energy. If the energy consumed on mining is waste of energy, then the banking process that consume electricity too is a waste of energy. Based on the increasing difficulty there is increase in the electricity consumption. With time the hardware efficiency is increased with reduced electricity consumption. Maybe scenario could change with the mining process taking place under the solar energy. By then will someone state the electricity consumption as waste of energy.

[Rahman11]

The Bitcoin mining software takes about 10 minutes on average for those on the network to solve the complex programme and process a block. Is it bad for the environment? As miners use large and efficient systems to mine blocks and validate transactions, this consumes tremendous amounts of electricity.

[mrongoz_imut]

every mining we do energy will definitely be wasted, like we play games using gpu energy is definitely wasted, but the problem is the energy wasted in bitcoin mining, it is never wasted, because the profits we get are 10 times, different from playing games Of course, the energy we expend will be wasted.

[defi-Dany]

This depends on how you think about it.

• If you are from the perspective of Bitcoin itself, if you want to generate Bitcoin, you need to calculate it through hashing, and you need the corresponding computing power to support the acquisition of Bitcoin. In addition to the current currency price, it is the result of an absolute positive return. This value has freed the wealth of countless miners.

• If you look at it from an ordinary person's point of view, it is really a waste of resources, because Bitcoin is useless, it also wastes electricity, and it competes with the market for so many graphics cards and electronic devices. It is undoubtedly a waste of social resources.

• If you look at it from an economic point of view, it can actually be regarded as an act of stimulating consumption. Because of the participation of miners, the price of graphics cards will increase. Although the electricity bill is very high, it is paid and a lot of surplus electricity is used. In mining, it can be regarded as a kind of resource reuse. While stimulating consumption, it also increases the utilization rate of resources.

• If the blockchain becomes widespread in the later period, this behavior is not only a waste of resources, but we often need to rely on this behavior to confirm multiple blocks, and miners are required to mention us for settlement. Consumption needs to make a contribution, which is equal value exchange.

[AakZaki]

every mining we do energy will definitely be wasted, like we play games using gpu energy is definitely wasted, but the problem is the energy wasted in bitcoin mining, it is never wasted, because the profits we get are 10 times, different from playing games Of course, the energy we expend will be wasted.

is it true 10 times what we get? Miners today cannot be said to be profitable if they do not have large capital. if it's only a small miner with a limited RIG, it won't cover the cost for the electricity used as well as the replacement of the GPU if it suddenly breaks down. Minimum capital will not be profitable. But if a Chinese class miner with thousands of active GPUs, it will be different again.

Currently the energy sources used by miners are also environmentally friendly and not wasted and 50% does not damage the environment.

[Kong Hey Pakboy]

The Bitcoin mining software takes about 10 minutes on average for those on the network to solve the complex programme and process a block. Is it bad for the environment? As miners use large and efficient systems to mine blocks and validate transactions, this consumes tremendous amounts of electricity.

It's not bad for the environment, it's just how people want you to think that it's bad for the environment, bitcoin mining is just consuming electricity, it's not like they produce their power unless the mines have their own energy generator like windpower or solar energy. The people who says that bitcoin is a waste of energy are the people that don't have any direct stake in bitcoin or was bitter about the price of bitcoin so high that they regret not buying it and now they want to spread negativity on it to make it go down.

[RainbowKun]

The Bitcoin mining software takes about 10 minutes on average for those on the network to solve the complex programme and process a block. Is it bad for the environment? As miners use large and efficient systems to mine blocks and validate transactions, this consumes tremendous amounts of electricity.

It's not bad for the environment, it's just how people want you to think that it's bad for the environment, bitcoin mining is just consuming electricity, it's not like they produce their power unless the mines have their own energy generator like windpower or solar energy. The people who says that bitcoin is a waste of energy are the people that don't have any direct stake in bitcoin or was bitter about the price of bitcoin so high that they regret not buying it and now they want to spread negativity on it to make it go down.

Yes, some people say that Bitcoin is a waste of energy, which is often an excuse. Some people use this to attack Bitcoin, and some people regret that they don't have Bitcoin in their hands. People who use this to attack Bitcoin are more often than not that they have never had Bitcoin before and do not really understand Bitcoin.

[Tina H]

Many people believe that Bitcoin mining does not generate social value, and that mining is just a waste of resources. I think this is a misunderstanding of mining.
Just like printing money in a country, it also consumes manpower and paper. It is electricity that guarantees the value of Bitcoin. Just like issuing currency, this consumption is inevitable.
I don't want to use the logic that existence is reasonable. The electricity consumed by Bitcoin mining is the result of normal market economic transactions. Isn't this the value of Bitcoin in the market? It's not that it is meaningless.
For the entire system, the greatest value of the large amount of electricity consumed by Bitcoin is security.It is precisely because accounting involves huge computing power that no other organization has the ability to tamper with data.

[juliepower]

Bitcoin mining is not a waste of energy resources. It is a resources and money invested in most secure financial network.Miners are now heading to the cheapest sources of energy ,which more often than not are renewable. People should keep an open mind and put things into perspective.

[jinneas]

Mining activities are crucial for cryptocurrencies.The essence of mining is that global miners use algorithms and computing power to maintain a relatively safe and decentralized currency system.
Bitcoin's mining mechanism is the technical foundation that maintains the operation of the Bitcoin network.
Bitcoin mining can ensure the security of the Bitcoin network. The purpose is to protect encrypted currency from network attacks and tampering with the data in the protocol, which is of great significance to Bitcoin users.
The energy consumed by Bitcoin mining is necessary. It can turn energy into capital gains and at the same time make assets more secure.So Bitcoin mining should be a meaningful and reasonable behavior, and it cannot be simply regarded as a waste of resources.

[Wong Gendheng]

have we ever heard that bitcoin is a waste of energy of course we have never seen such a thing, because bitcoin is a business without using materials such as gasoline or electricity which we say wastes a lot of energy but not what happens with bitcoin, because bitcoin only uses the internet network for its needs for a long time

If someone says bitcoin mining is a waste of energy, of course he doesn't understand bitcoin mining or hates bitcoin, I'm sure this issue was created to make bitcoin fall so everything can be done. It is our collective duty to campaign positively about bitcoin mining that does not require excessive energy.

[RainbowKun]

have we ever heard that bitcoin is a waste of energy of course we have never seen such a thing, because bitcoin is a business without using materials such as gasoline or electricity which we say wastes a lot of energy but not what happens with bitcoin, because bitcoin only uses the internet network for its needs for a long time

If someone says bitcoin mining is a waste of energy, of course he doesn't understand bitcoin mining or hates bitcoin, I'm sure this issue was created to make bitcoin fall so everything can be done. It is our collective duty to campaign positively about bitcoin mining that does not require excessive energy.

Many people use Bitcoin to waste energy to attack Bitcoin. They don't understand the overall operating mode of Bitcoin at all, and they don't know that  mining is more a store of value. Bitcoin mining maintains the normal operation of the entire Bitcoin network and records huge economic behavior.

[JillianTaft]

From the perspective of Bitcoin, mining has an impact on Bitcoin itself. It costs money to mine. The more cost miners pay, the more valuable Bitcoin is.
This problem can easily be polarized. Those who support Bitcoin believe that Bitcoin has real value, not a waste of resources. Those who oppose Bitcoin believe that Bitcoin has no real value and therefore is a waste of resources. From a subjective level, mining itself is the definition of the cost of digital currency.

[iTradeChips]

What I think is that while Cryptocurrency mining does use a lot of electricity, governments need to consider that other operations that creates money like casinos, entertainment centers in red light districts, pollutant rich factories, and industries that they see as a challenge to the environment, also uses electricity and should also be sanctioned like the Bitcoin companies and mining conglomerates. I think it is unfair for governments to blame it all on crypto and put all legal means to "silence" cryptocurrency. Obviously, they failed.