Bitcoin Mining - A Critical View On Its Environmental Impact!
Does Bitcoin Endanger Our Environment?
This Question may be answered with a YES or NO, depending on the standpoint you´re taking in this debate. There are very good points to be brought up for either side and I want to state upfront that I´ve still not decided for one of them, so that I´d appreciate your honest opinions in the comments 😉
But let´s take a look on the arguments I´ve found so far and value as the most important. On the side of those denying an environmental Impact of Bitcoin mining we may take a closer look on the energy consumption of current assets like for the production of fiat currencies or gold mining. The Cointelegraph actually outlined this huge difference very nicely so that there´s nothing more to add from my side.
Anyways, on the other side this Chart shows us another Power usage of more than 8.27 TWh, which is more than many small countries need in a whole year... That being said while knowing all the other less power consuming technologies out there, like e.g. POS, it´s definitely possible to argue that the Power for Bitcoin Mining is used unnecessary and hence a huge environmental impact.
Conclusion / My Current Opinion!
Please convince me otherwise in case you think I´m wrong. At the very moment I don´t see Bitcoin Mining as an environmental impact but I definitely do in case it should continue to grow exponentially just like it did this year. Of course it´s an amazing new technology and will definitely play a huge role in our future but let´s be honest we should really look after our environment and therefore more energy savvy solutions should be chosen over others.
I mean, take a look at the Steem Blockchain. It doesn´t need a lot of energy to be kept running and it´s even more capable in regards to transactions, etc. than Bitcoin and all its forks together. I´m really curious therefore on what the future holds for us.
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Right now is very profitable to mine bitcoin :)
Lol since when?
Right now I invest in mining with hashflare you can look at the number in my blog post ;)
Definitely more profitable in USD terms. The BTC values keep to drop though due to the increasing difficulty.
right now you can brake even in 60-70 days few month ago was like in 6-8month brake even ;)
No, mining "virtual gold" is safer than literal mining activity that destroys mountains/agricultural land just to dig in golds besides typical mining produces different wastes chemicals that could harm both the soil and the people.. Records also show that mining is dangerous for workers on field.. But on bitcoin mining only computers do the job no waste except electric power but considering that mining fields also consume a big amount of energy as well mining bitcoin is far more on the advantage. Virtual mining is more safe. :-) :-) =) both to the environment and to the workforce as well..
It´s safer for sure than the physical mining of gold but the real question is, do we really need it these days with the alternatives we got already?
im sorry im a bit confused which one you were asking for the need bitcoin or literal golds?
sorry hahaha
kinda both 😂 Bitcoin might be the new gold but we could run it without such a big amount of energy by using other technologies.
kinda both 😂 Bitcoin might be the new gold but we could run it without such a big amount of energy by using other technologies.
The hardware necessary to mine crypto is manufactured from materials physically mined. Materials including lead, copper, gold, aluminum, magnesium, silicon, zinc, mercury, ruthenium, neodymium, gallium, lutetium, tantalum, hafnium and rutherfordium. Also plastics, various alloys, lithium in batteries and so on. Plus there's the impact of manufacturing new components and disposal of old components. All seemingly important variables when considering environmental impact.
I think it really has environmental impact. But in comparison with other impacts, it is very little, the electricity, the main problem, has many means to produce, with due investment, cleanly and responsibly.
It´s not too big so far but I guess it might just grow exponentially... But let´s see how it plays out in the end.
YES
Seems the electricity consumption of Bitcoin is a bit more on various sites like :
greenmedia: https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/bitcoin-uses-more-energy-than-ireland
and
ArsTechnica: https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2017/12/bitcoins-insane-energy-consumption-explained/
They boast that it's 32TWh .. so 4 times more than you state. Surpassing already Ireland and most African countries.
Every Bitcoin transaction consumes a whopping 250kWh, 9 days of powering an average home (true enough).
If it only expended that energy for something useful then it wouldn't be so obsolete like the tulip bulb it now is.
For alternatives try Gridcoin [GRC], Solarcoin [SLR] and more that require way less resources and/or produces a very benign effect to society like research or promoting alternative energy.
For faster transactions and lower fees try the other 1000 altcoins that exist...
Yeah the power consumption is quite shocking to be honest. But it´ll go on like that I think as Bitcoin is here to stay. Let´s just hope it´ll get more efficient and less energy consuming any day soon :)
great post, here in my country of Canada , the province of Quebec is the world leader in hydroelectricity , it is attracting a lot of miners now because of our very low cost of electricity. and where moving into wind and solar also....
That´s the way it should be everywhere but unfortunately we are still far away from it :(
In case the setup would be the same anywhere the mining wouldn´t be an issue to the environment at all.
and with a lot of rivers around you can use them to keep the mines cool to save energy.
That´s just a perfect setup to mine in an environmentally responsible way :)
I also heard how bitcoin has a huge impact on our environment, but we all know BTC has it's flaws. I believe in the long run it will be replaced with an other crypto/cryptos, and this issue will be fixed with that just like the others. However if this doesn't happen, the running of the BitCoin blockchain will soon have serious environmental effects.
It might definitely have. But only time will tell
Just before I saw an interview with John McAffee where he stated, that the production of 1 BTC (mining, electricity etc) is now at 1000US$. Would you say, that this is true?
Yes it is. Probably even more depending on your mining setup as you consume a lot of energy to produce a coin.
If the less energy is consumed than it values less.
Bitcoin requires massive power to mine thus creating gold quality in a sense that its finite and not easily achievable. Steem in other hand does not require lot of power to generate and as such it is valued less.
Why is the cost of BTC so high? If it was as easy as steem than everyone would be able to mine and get their own BTC and would certainly have less value.
That´s part of the current view on things in our world but to be honest it´s outdated in my opinion and maybe those new technologies we got could finally allow us not just to change the way our world works but as well improve the human threat towards nature.
In the end it´s actually not the work you put in to produce something but the faith of the people in its value. So changing the way we think about it could change the whole game.
Great post.
liked it
thank you :)
now it is very profitable to extract not only bitcoin, but the bitcoin mining becomes more difficult ... and now it is profitable to mine a growing crypto currency (the so-called altcoyins), they can be mined without any problems, even on a stationary computer, with a good video card, and given the huge growth potential some altcoyins, mined now, they will grow further bringing a good profit ... thanks for the article
Agreed, it´s just always the question, which one will actually rise and which ones will eventually die ;)
completely agree, while all this is not clear, then such an investment is a game. Therefore, it is advisable to create a portfolio and diversify ... and the main thing is not to invest the last money (which is needed for life) ... this is my opinion)
Don´t put in more than 10-25% of your money into crypto. That´s my opinion on it as it could blow just as it could go up.
I agree, the volatility is large, there is always the risk of losing your investment ... many perceive such investment as a game), I think in the future, perhaps the emergence of POOLS from different crypto-currencies, this will strengthen the market position and save you from sharp price jumps ..
We´ll see a lot of altcoins die along the way while the big players will establish themselves on the market. Only the best will survive in the end!