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Bitcoin consumed 134 TWh in total during 2021

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Re: Bitcoin consumed 134 TWh in total during 2021

#251

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why would you want that? There isn’t a cheaper centralized system of rendering 3D graphics that uses 1/1000 the energy. We can handle transactions with quite little energy using traditional means. It’s not pseudonymous or decentralized and it’s not extremely efficient. But compared to Bitcoin it’s a wonder of efficiency. I wouldn’t take anything off the table when it comes to banning energy use. But rendering in part…

Ok, imagine yourself in Belarus. All traditional means are under government control. How do you fund anti-Lukashemko guerrillas? Cash?

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Re: Bitcoin consumed 134 TWh in total during 2021

#252

Just copying another comment abotu the energy consumption of online adverising "The online advertising ecosystem resides in the core of the Internet, and it is the sole source of funding for many online services. Therefore, it is an essential factor in the analysis of the Internet's energy footprint. As a result, in 2016, online advertising consumed 20–282 TWh of energy. In the same year, the total infrastructure con…

Given the context I can only assume that this is intended to be a defence of the energy consumption of mining, but even so it's the most tone-deaf defense I can imagine. Excusez mon français, but gently caress the online advertising industry, and gently caress proof of work cryptocurrencies. Scourges of the modern world, the both of them.

Re: Bitcoin consumed 134 TWh in total during 2021

#253

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Serious question: how would cryptocurrencies and defi have helped avoid/mitigate the subprime lending crisis specifically?

It wouldn’t have. CoinBros don’t understand that IOUs (debt) have existed across human history and will likely continue to exist. And that most economic activity is done through debt. Once a set of “trusted” actors can issue debt, you have monetary expansion. In Crypto, we have Coinbase, Binance and Tether - the defacto crypto banks. They have the ability to expand the crypto money supply and promise IOUs multiples i…

Maybe we should focus on Bisq[1], a decentralized bitcoin exchange network. Solves the centralization that is Coinbase, Binance, and so forth.

[1] https://bisq.network/

Re: Bitcoin consumed 134 TWh in total during 2021

#254
We often are told to save on energy consumption because of climate crisis but 134 TWh was used for Bitcoin.

What is Bitcoin useful for?

I use energy to cook, to get a shower, to work, to watch TV, and a lot of other things. But Bitcoin is used for financial speculation, get rich schemes, and all sort of scams.

And I am told to save energy otherwise I am a contributor to climate change, but Bitcoin scumbags can use whatever energy they want to cheat people and take their money.

This is what people call civilization. A good f#cking civilization.

Re: Bitcoin consumed 134 TWh in total during 2021

#255
post #7

With a climate crisis the last thing we needed was to make the most effective energy consumption system ever constructed. The whole thing literally works on competing on consuming more energy. No other system works so efficiently towards such goal. What's scary is that the whole thing was designed to be unstoppable. My utopian hope for the future is that we start sending rigs in orbit close to the sun. Since we only…

The worst part is that according to Cambridge some 40% of that is coal power [1]. Frequently the dirtiest coal power in the world, between Xinjiang (no longer, probably...) and Kazakhstan. Coal power causes excess mortality of anywhere between 25 and 278 deaths per TWh generated depending on how you're counting it and (most importantly) where it's generated. [2,3,4] Bitcoin's addiction to dirty coal killed between 15…

There are no new dirty power plants like coal or nuclear built specifically for bitcoin mining. There are definitely new renewable energy sources built for bitcoin mining. So dirty energy would be used anyway!

The rate of new renewable energy sources created because of bitcoin is higher overall than without bitcoin.

Re: Bitcoin consumed 134 TWh in total during 2021

#256

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> No, but banning the miners meant they didn't have to build a whole pile more. I wasn't arguing that it was a bad thing that China banned bitcoin mining, just that banning it didn't reduce fossil fuels at all (maybe slowed down how fast they expanded in the future, sure). And they're still planning to build 43 new ones[1] in addition to what they already have. So now what? Can't ban bitcoin mining in China twice. Ho…

> So now what? Can't ban bitcoin mining in China twice. How are we going to get them to reduce emissions now? Indeed, they have a lot of work ahead of them. I will not disagree. I'm hopeful their huge push towards nuclear power will help them bridge the gap. They are one of the biggest sources of carbon emissions and all sorts of other pollution in the world. > You are neither the worst person I know, nor did you mak…

Fair enough. Sounds like we're mostly on the same page on this issue after all, except I don't want to see bitcoin eliminated, just somehow figure out a way to significantly reduce how much electricity it's started consuming and for it to be run on 100% renewables someday (hopefully sooner than later).

Re: Bitcoin consumed 134 TWh in total during 2021

#257

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's a waste to you, but not to the people who use and value it.

Fentanyl has value to some people. But it kills them and some people keep making more.

Fentanyl actually has medical value, it's used as part of anesthesia. [1]

[1] https://www.uofmhealth.org/health-library/d00233n1

Re: Bitcoin consumed 134 TWh in total during 2021

#258
post #7

With a climate crisis the last thing we needed was to make the most effective energy consumption system ever constructed. The whole thing literally works on competing on consuming more energy. No other system works so efficiently towards such goal. What's scary is that the whole thing was designed to be unstoppable. My utopian hope for the future is that we start sending rigs in orbit close to the sun. Since we only…

The worst part is that according to Cambridge some 40% of that is coal power [1]. Frequently the dirtiest coal power in the world, between Xinjiang (no longer, probably...) and Kazakhstan. Coal power causes excess mortality of anywhere between 25 and 278 deaths per TWh generated depending on how you're counting it and (most importantly) where it's generated. [2,3,4] Bitcoin's addiction to dirty coal killed between 15…

That's anywhere from 0.1 to 0.01 milimort per bitcoin transaction. Chilling.

Re: Bitcoin consumed 134 TWh in total during 2021

#259

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The worst part is that according to Cambridge some 40% of that is coal power [1]. Frequently the dirtiest coal power in the world, between Xinjiang (no longer, probably...) and Kazakhstan. Coal power causes excess mortality of anywhere between 25 and 278 deaths per TWh generated depending on how you're counting it and (most importantly) where it's generated. [2,3,4] Bitcoin's addiction to dirty coal killed between 15…

There are no new dirty power plants like coal or nuclear built specifically for bitcoin mining. There are definitely new renewable energy sources built for bitcoin mining. So dirty energy would be used anyway! The rate of new renewable energy sources created because of bitcoin is higher overall than without bitcoin.

No, there have been fossil plants that were reinstated or bought for mining.

E.g. https://youtu.be/GMcgEdLUdu4

Re: Bitcoin consumed 134 TWh in total during 2021

#260

My personal opinion is that whilst Bitcoin is not the answer, many seem to miss the point of cryptocurrencies, which IMHO is, to enable a permissionless electronic cash system. Being decentralized is an important aspect of it, and TPS and time-to-finality etc are important metrics for any practical use, but the appeal of cryptocurrencies is that you don't need the permission of others to open an account nor have to p…

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