BBC - Bitcoin - Can something which has no physical presence consume as much electricity as an entire country?
As if answering my post on here yesterday Monday December 11th - https://steemit.com/energy/@ijavee/why-you-could-soon-have-a-nuclear-power-plant-in-your-kitchen
The BBC published the article below
The internet has recently been awash with claims that the digital currency Bitcoin could be using more electricity than a number of developed nations. So Reality Check wants to know: how did they work it out, and is it true?
Although it has been around since 2009, the digital currency, or crypto-currency, has been dominating headlines across the globe recently thanks to its soaring value.
Bitcoin: what's behind the gold rush?
Unlike the notes or coins in your pocket, Bitcoin is not printed by governments or traditional banks and largely exists online.
Around 3,600 new bitcoins are created every day through a complex process known as "mining", where computers are rewarded with a bitcoin for processing mathematical equations through specialised software.
Except this isn't only a handful of computers processing these equations, but thousands of machines all over the world running day and night - that's a lot of electricity.
And as bitcoins increase in value, more and more machines are being plugged in and switched on by amateurs and professionals alike to mine them.
Given their digital nature, there's understandably been a growing curiosity about how much electricity is actually being used to produce bitcoins.
'As much electricity as Denmark'
Link to full BBC article -http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-42265728
I think the amount of electricity used to mine Bitcoin is a big fault with the coin. Proof Of Work (POW) requires lots of computing power to run a process that on occasion randomly find the answer to a kind of riddle which is rewarded with Bitcoin.
One better way is DPOS which is used here on Steemit, was used before in Bitshares, and will be used in the future by EOS.
https://steemit.com/dpos/@dantheman/dpos-consensus-algorithm-this-missing-white-paper
I have invested in all three of these projects. I think they are the future.
Thank you Kenny. I am interested in EOS. Mirrors Ethereum doesn't it.I am interested in that.What I think I know so far. Started By Dan Larimer the Steem inventor. Is to Business what Bitcoin is to Finance and Windows is to the Internet.Can you buy on Bittrex.I thought it was still in development though ?.It will be interesting to see if the market plunges on the electricity bad news.Nearly 9pm here.Have a wee whisky time!
EOS allows programs to be run on the blockchain, similar to Etherium. But it is like an OS and makes it easier for a team to start up a new project. It has always been very well financially backed and its up 10x from when I got in, even though it is still in development and will be until maybe the summer. Get it on Kraken; its not on Bittrex. I hope you enjoyed your whisky!
https://www.kraken.com/
Thank you Kenny. My grandson says he has some EOS with Kraken.I don't expect it as easy though as the transfer arrangement on Steemit to Bittrex.
I transferred ETH from Bittrex to Kraken to buy the EOS. Before the year long EOS ICO ends, we have to move the EOS to a real ETH wallet such as MyEtherWallet, in order to get the real EOS. And you have to set up a Custom Tokem on MyEtherWallet, explained a few places such as here:
https://steemit.com/eos/@onejoe/sent-eos-token-to-myetherwallet-from-a-exchange-or-a-wallet-and-not-showing-up-here-s-the-solution
Yes the entire thing is a bit of a process, but worth it so far. EOS is up 10x since its early days!
I think there is a LOT of uncertainty about validity of this statement.
There are may way to mine Bitcoin, from using a desktop PC to using specially built mining rigs.
I think this is just more negative press to try and stem the growth of crypto currencies.
You might turn the same question around and ask how much electricity does Google use?
I think you'll find it dwarfs Bitcoin by a huge amount.
Thank you Trevor. I hope you are right.We shall soon see by how the market reacts if the Bitcoin Achilles Heel has been found.There is a lot of similar probing going on by establishment bodies - Bitcoin is the currency of crooks and criminals for money laundering etc !As if they weren't able to do that before !
exactly! I wonder how all those poor criminals coped before Bitcoin came along. It must have been really hard for them.
Than you.I Love the BBC for the quality of programmes they make, and I agree with the compulsory licence fee (Yes,I know I'm age excused!) because they can be bold with programme making without having to worry about attracting advertising revenue.But they tend to be biased I think with their political coverage.
Congratulations @ijavee! You have completed some achievement on Steemit and have been rewarded with new badge(s) :
Click on any badge to view your own Board of Honor on SteemitBoard.
For more information about SteemitBoard, click here
If you no longer want to receive notifications, reply to this comment with the word
STOP