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Bitcoin miners are buying power plants

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Re: Bitcoin miners are buying power plants

#571

Post by ArkanExplorer »

jariel wrote: post #312
bransonf wrote: post #94

It’s a simple equation: So long as there is more money in mining BTC than there is cost in energy to mine it, mining will proceed. No entity in the world can control the price of crypto. But, we can and already do regulate energy production. I think we need a carbon tax, that is specifically a financial disincentive towards any means of energy production that directly pollutes the atmosphere. Seriously, what are the…

"No entity in the world can control the price of crypto." If it were banned in the US/EU the price would crash. Most major BTC backers have a lot of money and they can't be involved in something that is illicit. For regular citizens, it's just not worth the risk. That leaves quite a lot of people to play with it, but not enough to maintain the price. Without constant headlines, Tesla's involvement, Coinbase IPO headl…

Turkey - a minor economy - was able to crush the price of BTC by 15% with their recent ban. A large economy doing the same could have a major effect on price. Energy and hardware use is directly aligned with price.

If there are any Governments out there who desire to fight climate change - and it seems like there are a reasonable amount - then illegalising proof-of-work coins seems like a reasonable step at least from an energy use perspective.

Re: Bitcoin miners are buying power plants

#572

Post by M277 »

vernon99 wrote: post #570
M277 wrote: post #478

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How is it safe when it's so volatile and based on speculation? As someone from a country which has had its currency's value slashed to half 5 years ago, I genuinely don't see how Bitcoin is safe at all. If anything, gold or real estate are safer. Sure, if it is somehow guaranteed that I won't wake up tomorrow seeing 1 BTC = $30 000, I could see your argument. But is that guaranteed? I would also like to add that the…

As somebody who saw family wealth slashed 100x due to crazy inflation just 20 years ago, 2x fluctuations are nothing. This is the perspective worth recognizing. Bitcoin is actually very stable by comparison. Edit: fat fingers typing.

Ouch. My condolences.

Yeah, if things are that bad, it could be viable.

Civil war is another viable scenario. However, one should also assess the situation properly if his/her country is in civil war. If things go bad and you have to escape, "safe passage for x amount of gold I have on hand" is more guaranteed than "safe passage for x BTC I promise to pay".

Re: Bitcoin miners are buying power plants

#573

Post by jude- »

MrMan wrote: post #476
jude- wrote: post #143

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's faster and cheaper to build out new capacity and then later retire old capacity than it is to do an in-situ replacement. Build the battery-backed solar and wind farms now, and then watch the coal and gas plants go bankrupt.

Then bitcoin miners will buy the old coal plants and we are back to square one

Not if you make coal-fired plants illegal to operate. Easy to enforce, since you can see the CO2 emissions and just go seize and demolish the plant if it turns on. Can also seize the coal mines.

This will have to happen regardless of whether or not cryptocurrency exists.

Re: Bitcoin miners are buying power plants

#574

Post by Webox »

vernon99 wrote: post #570
M277 wrote: post #478

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How is it safe when it's so volatile and based on speculation? As someone from a country which has had its currency's value slashed to half 5 years ago, I genuinely don't see how Bitcoin is safe at all. If anything, gold or real estate are safer. Sure, if it is somehow guaranteed that I won't wake up tomorrow seeing 1 BTC = $30 000, I could see your argument. But is that guaranteed? I would also like to add that the…

As somebody who saw family wealth slashed 100x due to crazy inflation just 20 years ago, 2x fluctuations are nothing. This is the perspective worth recognizing. Bitcoin is actually very stable by comparison. Edit: fat fingers typing.

Nothing guarantees you at all, that bitcoin doesn't fall today from 60k back to 100.

Re: Bitcoin miners are buying power plants

#575

Post by birracerveza »

thehappypm wrote: post #418
birracerveza wrote: post #342

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Criminalizing cryptocurrency was already exaggerated out of sanity bounds.

I think cryptocurrency should be banned. It's provided zero actual value, it's only uses are crime and as a speculative asset. Oh, and as a vehicle for poor Venezuelans to avoid inflation, can't forget about that fantasy.

This comment smells of first world privilege.

Re: Bitcoin miners are buying power plants

#576

Post by thehappypm »

birracerveza wrote: post #575
thehappypm wrote: post #418

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think cryptocurrency should be banned. It's provided zero actual value, it's only uses are crime and as a speculative asset. Oh, and as a vehicle for poor Venezuelans to avoid inflation, can't forget about that fantasy.

This comment smells of first world privilege.

If anything screams first-world privilege, it's cryptocurrencies. Guess who owns 99.9999% of all crypto? The West.

Re: Bitcoin miners are buying power plants

#577

Post by pauljurczak »

spiorf wrote: post #215
pauljurczak wrote: post #150

"its price has risen from $3,729 in December 2018 to more than $62,000 this week." Nice advertising. How about: "its price has risen from $19,650 in December 2017 to more than $62,000 this week."

Its price was $19,650 only for a brief moment. Why pick that particular moment for the range instead of the minimum and maximum as per "range" definition?

Because min/max per range is for complete suckers, who think it is feasible to buy at minimum and sell at maximum price. Definitely not practical for mere mortals trading a volatile "asset".

I chose a biased $19,650 value to make a point. Anyone who bought Bitcoin in the month of December 2017 or January 2018 paid over $10K a piece. The price was over $6K for more than one year, before it dropped shortly to $4K neighborhood. $3,729 is not a representative number.

BTW, 3 days after my comment "more than $62,000" is no longer there, either.

Re: Bitcoin miners are buying power plants

#578

Post by maccam94 »

CharlesW wrote: post #56
maccam94 wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It still generates heat, which warms the planet.

https://www.treehugger.com/ask-pablo-do-solar-panels-contrib... "Cities and their expansive hardscapes are certainly to blame for the heat island effect and, since the hardscapes and solar energy-absorbing roofs are already there, solar panels may actually represent a reduction in heat absorbtion. Add to that the fact that solar panels produce renewable energy that does not contribute to climate change like conventio…

Sorry, the "it" I was referring to was mining hardware, not solar generation. Crypto-mining, if it continues to grow unabated, at some point will start to increase the price of energy and encourage more energy production. Some of that might be somewhat neutral solar, but using basically any other energy source would increase thermal energy being generated.
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