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> Once it is realized to be a crime, round these guys up, put them in jail for lifelong sentences.
It is disturbing you think like this.
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Everyone wants to ban bitcoin mining, but nobody wants to tax carbon emissions and end industry subsidies.
Let's tax stuff in proportion to the value it provides to society Since crypto is used for crime and pyramid schemes, zero value so infinite tax = ban
I think cryptocurrency is broken in a lot of other ways and may even in in a solarpunk future need to be banned in order to stop a hash-rate arms race disassembling the plane into a Dyson swarm, but even then it’s best to focus on the principles behind the problem rather than the specific technology.
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It isn't obvious that mining goes away at any cost. Personally I'm in the "do both" camp. Have a simple carbon tax, but also find some inoffensive way to get rid of the mining. Both sound hard.
While we're picking and choosing who gets to consume electricity, let's get rid of video gaming, casinos, porn websites, etc.
I heard an interesting argument for Bitcoin recently. It represents a way to move energy around the world wirelessly. For instance, you can use geothermal power in a very isolated, cold climate that previously would be unusable for any purpose. As Bitcoin’s power needs are decentralized, all it needs is an internet connection. You could have a Bitcoin mine in outer space, if you wanted. Not sure why I’m being downvot…
So by "move energy" you mean "move energy demand".
In other words, transporting energy is usually the limiting factor. That’s why you can’t just have all your solar panels in the desert, for instance. Moving power is too difficult. But with Bitcoin, you don’t need to move the power, just the product. So think of all the energy currently devoted to printing money, or running the computer systems that prop up the global financial market - if you transitioned to Bitcoin, in theory all of that power could be saved, as Bitcoin would be entirely using power that cannot otherwise be used.
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Okay, what metric are we using to determine "value to society"?
I don’t think we have to agree on a single metric to see that running a coal-fired power plant for the sole purpose of cracking hashes has marginal, if any value to society. And that’s before we even factor in the ridiculously negative externalities manifest in digging coal out of the earth and burning it.
I think an asset that can be secured, transmitted, and stored in self custody cheaply that allows people to escape hyperinflation is quite valuable to society.
I think understanding central banking and monetary policy and history of money are not strong points on HN. Everyone here understands that a memory leak causes your app to crash given enough cycles. Being able to print unlimited currency is a memory leak.
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Okay, what metric are we using to determine "value to society"?
I don’t think we have to agree on a single metric to see that running a coal-fired power plant for the sole purpose of cracking hashes has marginal, if any value to society. And that’s before we even factor in the ridiculously negative externalities manifest in digging coal out of the earth and burning it.
I was unable to convince them to the contrary on either regard, the necessity nor the sufficiency, despite the existence of all the currencies that work even better without PoW/PoS.
I heard an interesting argument for Bitcoin recently. It represents a way to move energy around the world wirelessly. For instance, you can use geothermal power in a very isolated, cold climate that previously would be unusable for any purpose. As Bitcoin’s power needs are decentralized, all it needs is an internet connection. You could have a Bitcoin mine in outer space, if you wanted. Not sure why I’m being downvot…
Interesting. I could heat my home with bitcoin like that. /s
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I don’t think we have to agree on a single metric to see that running a coal-fired power plant for the sole purpose of cracking hashes has marginal, if any value to society. And that’s before we even factor in the ridiculously negative externalities manifest in digging coal out of the earth and burning it.
Eh, I’ve had responses from pro-crypto people to the effect that the cost is the point, those particular individuals seem to believe that is both a necessary and a sufficient way of making the thing secure and useful. I was unable to convince them to the contrary on either regard, the necessity nor the sufficiency, despite the existence of all the currencies that work even better without PoW/PoS.
When people succumb to that kind of profit motive, it becomes our responsibility as disinterested outsiders to make a non-compromised evaluation of the state of affairs. That's the evaluation I'm interested in.
I heard an interesting argument for Bitcoin recently. It represents a way to move energy around the world wirelessly. For instance, you can use geothermal power in a very isolated, cold climate that previously would be unusable for any purpose. As Bitcoin’s power needs are decentralized, all it needs is an internet connection. You could have a Bitcoin mine in outer space, if you wanted. Not sure why I’m being downvot…