Do You Think Bitcoin Mining Will Be Banned Due to Fears of Climate Change?

[o_e_l_e_o]

If you have mass-media behind your back, powerful organizations, financiers, and politics, the truth can be bent to achieve a certain goal. Imagine trying to force the world's population to mass-inject a "cure" or "symptom reducer", for healthy people, lock them up in their homes, and prevent them to work and live freely? Now that would be crazy. But wait, why does that sound familiar and something that worked?

I'm not going to derail this in to an argument about vaccines, but I would encourage people not to make this comparison when arguing about bitcoin's energy use. All evidence points to vaccines being safe and effective, just as all evidence points to bitcoin mining using an insignificant amount of electricity and using one of the highest proportions of green energy of any industry. But regardless of that fact and your own personal beliefs about vaccines, if you link arguments about bitcoin energy use to anti-vax sentiments, or anti-climate change sentiments, or any other fringe belief for that matter, then you risk sounding like a conspiracy nut and having your arguments dismissed without consideration.

It is enough to simply stick to the evidence. Spread the facts about bitcoin mining far and wide without drawing unnecessary comparisons to unrelated topics.

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[Mr.right85]

Banning bitcoin has been on the lips of governments of the world and a few have dared to carry out this sentencing on the network but haven't been very effective to see it through effectively. This is given the fact as to how decentralized and free to air bitcoin is amongst the few who uses the network.

Before, there bone of containment has been related to untraceable fraudulent activities and now, climate change gives them an even bigger excuse to want to do away with a network they don't fully understand and can't control. Unfortunately, it's stil out of there control and no matter what regulations are put in place as humans, we would always fined a way! Unjust rules will always be broken and that's a fact!

[kryptqnick]

I agree with the op that the attention to environmental impact of Bitcoin mining is way too high and considerations of banning it are way too common, while many industries are basically being ignored or not investigated enough. At the same time, I wouldn't say that calls to ban Bitcoin are even made based upon thorough investigations; instead they seem to largely rely on speculations, assumptions, lack of context. I think mining in the US won't become banned at the federal level, but perhaps some states would do that. As for the EU, I think they currently also have bigger issues, so I don't find a full mining ban likely. As for more regulations, making mining harder - unfortunately, I do think it's likely in Western countries, but it will be an issue only to miners who are currently in those countries, not to the network itself. Incentivizing clean mining is possible, but perhaps more likely as a part of incentivizing all or many of those who are currently on fossil fuels, not miners specifically. Finally, I think Bitcoin is already not the top priority but just one recurring topic that gets some attention from governments, and it's likely to linger on like that in the future, but without Bitcon being fully left alone.

[_BlackStar]

I don't really understand how this issue will be handled and regulated by the government because I believe they want to have more control over the industry. It seems that the second point in this thread pool makes a lot of sense to choose from, and I dropped my pick right on it.

What happen? I think that's the government's way of preventing things they don't like and forcing companies to pay big profits to government without having to revoke their business licenses. Instead of banning, I would strongly believe they like to regulate, so there will be complicated procedures for bitcoin mining companies in the future due to government regulations.

[Pmalek]

I'm not going to derail this in to an argument about vaccines, but I would encourage people not to make this comparison when arguing about bitcoin's energy use. All evidence points to vaccines being safe and effective, just as all evidence points to bitcoin mining using an insignificant amount of electricity and using one of the highest proportions of green energy of any industry.

Even though it was me who instigated it, I agree with you that we shouldn't go there. All I wanted to say was that those in power have the means to get the masses to believe what they need them to believe. That can be that you are sick and need to be cured or that your use of Bitcoin is the reason why polar beers will die out soon. I will stop further comparisons now.

[Z-tight]

Why not? If we ever reach the scenario where bitcoin is being used by anything even approaching a large number of the global population, can governments afford not to mine? If a good chunk of international trade ends up being conducted using bitcoin, are governments going to be happy not having a stake in the security of the network (never mind not earning more bitcoin for themselves)? If a chunk of US trade is happening in bitcoin, and the CCP in China start mining bitcoin, then the US government will almost certainly set up their own mining operation in return, for example.

I know governments may mine BTC if all of these happen, but the chances of them happening soon is small and for bitcoin to be used by a large number of the global population will take a long time before it will happen, not that it won't. If we hypothetically agree to all of these scenarios, do you think a government like that of the US or the CCP will mine BTC openly, even when they've 'openly' not supported either BTC or BTC mining all these years, or they are going mine secretly, another thing is, can we be sure some of these top government officials do not anonymously/secretly own BTC mining farms, they know what's good right .

[yhiaali3]

In my view, what will happen is number 4: all of this will calm down one day, Bitcoin will be left alone and world leaders will focus on other, more important things?
This struggle will continue for some time between governments and mining companies as governments will constantly try to put more pressure on mining companies and at the same time these companies will keep trying to find alternative solutions as long as mining is still profitable, governments will eventually give up and believe that they cannot stop Bitcoin and they will get busy with other problems.

[The Cryptovator]

Whatever they try, won't be able to stop Bitcoin mining anyway. Yea, Bitcoin haters always raise a question about the energy consumption of Bitcoin mining. They don't want to mention any other things that consume more energy than Bitcoin mining which is useless. However they can't stop mining, they would prevent using energy. So miners have to move renewable energy where always many mining farms doing the same.

[Stalker22]

This is not an area where I am an expert, but I will try to provide some insight. Is Bitcoin mining contributing to climate change? Probably. There are definitely positives and negatives from the perspective of climate change, so it is hard to sum up a clear-cut opinion. But that does not mean Bitcoin mining will be banned anytime soon. While it may contribute more heat to our planet, so does the existence of these big institutions that hoard wealth. And we all know how entrenched they are in society at this point, regardless of what benefits they might bring (which in itself is debatable). If you are doing something wrong, there are always going to be people trying to fix it, or at least mitigate the damage. The problem then becomes one of accountability and sustainability, especially when energy sources like coal and oil are being subsidized by government entities who claim their environmental responsibility is not strong enough to lead the way into technologies like alternative energy or energy efficiency directives and standards. So, where does Bitcoin mining fit in? Probably a lot more controls and regulations, but not a full ban. When you ban something, you lose all control over it, and governments do not like that.

[serjent05]

With all this in mind, what do you think will be the future of PoW and Bitcoin mining?

1.   Do you think it will be banned entirely after scaring people with climate change concerns?  

Some countries started planning ban Bitcoin mining such as China while European country have their eyes on shutting down Bitcoin mining activity in belief that Bitcoin Mining greatly contribute to climate change.

2.   Will they find ways to make it harder to mine Bitcoin? More regulation, bigger taxes, regular inspections, overly complicated paperwork, and heavy fines for not complying with CO2 emissions are some of the ways they could penalize entities involved with PoW mining.  

Definitely, they will impose laws and regulations that will make mining Bitcoin harder.  They are finding a scapegoat for their fault on mismanagement of the environment that contributes to greenhouse effect and they see Bitcoin as one.  So they will put blame on Bitcoin, spread false information and trigger anti-Bitcoin mining mass rallies.

3.   Do you think the world governments could incentivize those still mining with fossil fuels to transition to clean energy?

It is possible but I think since Bitcoin principle is against centralized fiat financial system, they will find ways to exterminate Bitcoin first, incentivize would be a second option if they failed on their first option.

4.   Or will all this calm down one day, Bitcoin and its POW will be left alone, and world leaders will focus on other, more important things?

It is possible if Bitcoin survives all these environmental controversies.  There is always a saying.. "if you can't beat them, join them"  Hopefully, Bitcoin will triumph all these hurdles and make the government realize the importance of the technology Bitcoin brings.

[bbc.reporter]

With all this in mind, what do you think will be the future of PoW and Bitcoin mining?

1.   Do you think it will be banned entirely after scaring people with climate change concerns?  
2.   Will they find ways to make it harder to mine Bitcoin? More regulation, bigger taxes, regular inspections, overly complicated paperwork, and heavy fines for not complying with CO2 emissions are some of the ways they could penalize entities involved with PoW mining.
3.   Do you think the world governments could incentivize those still mining with fossil fuels to transition to clean energy?
4.   Or will all this calm down one day, Bitcoin and its POW will be left alone, and world leaders will focus on other, more important things?

Please vote in the poll and share your thoughts and ideas below.

1. They might begin to try doing it more quickly not because of climate change, it might be because of concerns on energy shortages.

2. Yes and it will be through higher taxes and government makes it harder to apply for permits.

3. In Europe and in America, no hehehe. Why would they waste taxpayer's money? But they might do it in El Salvador. What are the updates on the bitcoin volcano?

4. This might be possible if costs on energy become low again.

[Don Pedro Dinero]

Within the interesting debate, I found an essential point missing, which was just mentioned by bbc.reporter and which was discussed yesterday in another thread on the subject.

1. They might begin to try doing it more quickly not because of climate change, it might be because of concerns on energy shortages.

The desire to cast Bitcoin in a bad light because of the PoW's energy use predated the war in Ukraine and the energy problems that Europe is facing, which not only consist of a huge price increase, but also the prediction of power cuts this winter.

The E.U. is preparing for blackouts this winter, amid an energy crisis

If you are talking about cutting off electricity in winter, it will be for what are considered non-essential services, as for example hospitals must have a continuous supply of electricity.

If the public authorities consider bitcoin mining not only non-essential, but an attack on their power, we know how this is going to end.

[pooya87]

Bottom line is some countries may ban bitcoin mining but it will definitely not be because of "fears of climate change" even if they insist on this being the reason. They will only ban bitcoin mining when they face an energy crisis which Europe and to some extent US are facing it these days which is why we are seeing an increased number of discussions about this matter!

It is worth mentioning that China banned bitcoin mining because they were also facing an energy crisis and it didn't solve a thing considering the fact that China's electricity usage continued growing like before, it didn't even have a small drop!

[8rch7]

Bitcoin mining is prohibited because of concerns about climate change, I think it's just their trick to drop bitcoin, they used to say bitcoin is just a useless internet currency and fake internet currency, but after bitcoin proved to be a digital currency the most sought after by all circles now they are trying to slander bitcoin by damaging the environment, critics say the use of bitcoin energy is the main cause of pollution, actually myths like this are not true at all, in fact other industries also use electricity in large quantities very large, to provide their services,
The question is why bitcoin continues to be criticized while other industries have never been criticized?

[o_e_l_e_o]

If you are talking about cutting off electricity in winter, it will be for what are considered non-essential services, as for example hospitals must have a continuous supply of electricity.

In the US there are pretty strict regulations about hospitals having back up generators or other sources of power in the event of power outages. Most critical equipment such as ventilators and infusion pumps have their own built in batteries, but for complex power hungry equipment these batteries might only last 30 minutes. Not to mention the chaos of being in the middle of a surgery when all the lights and electrical operating tools stop working. I imagine there would be similar regulations in the EU.

But yes, you make a good point. In the scenario of planned power cuts, then governments might start placing limits on what you are and are not allowed to use electricity for. Good luck enforcing that, though.

It is worth mentioning that China banned bitcoin mining because they were also facing an energy crisis and it didn't solve a thing considering the fact that China's electricity usage continued growing like before, it didn't even have a small drop!

It's almost like bitcoin mining is completely inconsequential! Not to mention that in China a large proportion was using excess energy from hydropower which was otherwise being wasted during periods of low demand.

[tadamichi]

Bottom line is some countries may ban bitcoin mining but it will definitely not be because of "fears of climate change" even if they insist on this being the reason. They will only ban bitcoin mining when they face an energy crisis which Europe and to some extent US are facing it these days which is why we are seeing an increased number of discussions about this matter!

It is worth mentioning that China banned bitcoin mining because they were also facing an energy crisis and it didn't solve a thing considering the fact that China's electricity usage continued growing like before, it didn't even have a small drop!

Because the decision to mine or to not mine is already being handled economically by itself. Banning mining because of facing an energy crisis is virtue signalling at best.

1. It’s already insanity to mine Bitcoin from the grid in Europe with skyrocketing energy prices for both industrial and private consumers, it was unprofitable before and even more now.

2. If energy prices are this high it’s more profitable to give energy to the grid than to mine Bitcoin with it for energy producers.

It’s like a self-regulating system that doesn’t take energy from where it’s too scarce, so bans won’t solve anything again like in china. It’s just another example of the incompetence of central authorities to handle crisis. They rather just use it for blame games against unwanted technologies and use arguments that sound logical on a surface level to fool 90% of people. Taking the most incompetent decisions just to maintain an image of competence to the public. Wasting time on irrelevant to the problem issues, so the public can feel like something is being done, while being distracted from actual solutions to the problem. Almost like they understand psychology really well.

[Pmalek]

If we hypothetically agree to all of these scenarios, do you think a government like that of the US or the CCP will mine BTC openly, even when they've 'openly' not supported either BTC or BTC mining all these years, or they are going mine secretly, another thing is, can we be sure some of these top government officials do not anonymously/secretly own BTC mining farms, they know what's good right .

Government officials can own their own businesses, and those businesses could include crypto-related companies. I don't think it will ever become an industry officially supported by the US or China. They can always have a hand in it through their influential corporate friends and business associates.

The problem then becomes one of accountability and sustainability, especially when energy sources like coal and oil are being subsidized by government entities who claim their environmental responsibility is not strong enough to lead the way into technologies like alternative energy or energy efficiency directives and standards.

The sun is free, they can't charge you for it. So is the wind and the power that comes from those sources. Big corporations don't profit from free. That's why Tesla (the man, not the car company) wasn't needed after a certain point.   

Not to mention that in China a large proportion was using excess energy from hydropower which was otherwise being wasted during periods of low demand.

And yet, they banned it. High energy consumption is never the reason. It's just the explanation that's presented to the public, among other things.   

[Maidak]

Whatever they try, won't be able to stop Bitcoin mining anyway. Yea, Bitcoin haters always raise a question about the energy consumption of Bitcoin mining. They don't want to mention any other things that consume more energy than Bitcoin mining which is useless. However they can't stop mining, they would prevent using energy. So miners have to move renewable energy where always many mining farms doing the same.

I also voted for, government will force miners to use renewable energy to mine. Stopping bitcoin mining would be very difficult to do, and banning bitcoin outright wouldn't do them any good. I think they are trying to make it difficult for bitcoin because they simply want to manage it and will find a way to tax it. I think that's their end goal, they want the tax, they don't want us to go free with it without their permission.

[Pmalek]

I think they are trying to make it difficult for bitcoin because they simply want to manage it and will find a way to tax it. I think that's their end goal, they want the tax, they don't want us to go free with it without their permission.

As long as the owners of Bitcoin addresses aren't known and the protocol doesn't require that we identify ourselves to a governing body (which isn't the case), governments can never stop face-to-face meetings and exchanges as well as truly decentralized crypto marketplaces.

[pooya87]

It’s like a self-regulating system that doesn’t take energy from where it’s too scarce, so bans won’t solve anything again like in china. It’s just another example of the incompetence of central authorities to handle crisis. They rather just use it for blame games against unwanted technologies and use arguments that sound logical on a surface level to fool 90% of people. Taking the most incompetent decisions just to maintain an image of competence to the public. Wasting time on irrelevant to the problem issues, so the public can feel like something is being done, while being distracted from actual solutions to the problem. Almost like they understand psychology really well.

It has always been easier for the politicians to find an scapegoat or a "bad guy" to blame everything on. In fact one of the reasons for the mass protests in Europe these days is that they have been blaming all the inflation and economical hardship on someone else (in this case Russia) to fool people into forgetting that they've been printing a shitton of money for the past 3 years and we've been warning about this day all this time. Now people see that lie so they revolt.