First off, I want to say that I AM a fan of SolarCoin, so this is not meant to sound too negative, but it is meant to challenge the idea of the "solarity".

I want to ask:

Where does the real value of crypto currencies come from?

Most fans of crypto seems to be missing the fundamental point that any increase in value (of any cyrpto currency) is not really "money for free". It is money we are borrowing (yet again) off the planet and future generations.

OK, so this "money" is not created as interest bearing debt (like most "normal" money) by banks. It is created by human perceptions instead. The global mindset imbues these newly created digital assets with virtual value via our subconscious belief in scarcity and our grotesque affinity for greed.

But when we "cash in" those perceptions by converting our digital coins to GBP or USD and spend them on (often finite) resources like land, or building materials, or solar PV - all of which have an environmental impact - we are using up those resources, quicker than we would have been able to do without crypto currencies.

You could argue that Solarcoins are incentivising the installation of PV, and that is a good thing but, when their value increases, they are still extorting real tangible, natural, value (things like birds and forests and trees) into a mythical pool of financial value - and ultimately that will only ever speed up the destruction of the natural environment.

So let's not get too hasty about imagining a scenario where PV is "more than free". All our actions in the real world have environmental impacts and just because crypto currencies have found a new way to externalise those costs it does not mean we should be slapping ourselves on the back about it just yet! It is our children and grandchildren that we are forcing to pay for this new, naked emperor.