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We all know the case against BTC mining: BTC mining consumes electricity, which leads to...
- Electricity gets taken away from economy and people ---> higher electricity costs
- Outages
- Production of electricity damages the environment.
What arguments can the crypto community offer in order to counter that assumption?
For example,
BTC mining turning into a store of electricity;
BTC mining becomes a source of revenue for power providers when electricity demand is low,
so that power providers can lower their prices
(https://i.ibb.co/DbTjJR2/1.png)
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- Production of electricity damages the environment.
At least for this assumption, i would use report from https://bitcoinminingcouncil.com/ (https://bitcoinminingcouncil.com/). Their report state estimate almost 60% of electricity for Bitcoin mining comes from sustainable source. Although it's a shame they haven't released new report in a year.
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When there's a reserve of electricity (caused by having lots of miners using a fixed amount of GW at any given time), then you can basically unlock it during a crisis by contractually obliging the miners to shut off their equipment.
It becomes a bit of a problem when no contractual measures or legal agreements are put in place between the utility and the miners though.
For example in Iran, which largely condemns BTC mining officially (IIRC), the miners are operating there with no agreements with the state utility(s) so they just use as much power as they want and nobody can force them to stop during a period of constrained electricity availability except by actually raiding their warehouses and seizing all their gear.
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At least for this assumption, i would use report from https://bitcoinminingcouncil.com/ (https://bitcoinminingcouncil.com/). Their report state estimate almost 60% of electricity for Bitcoin mining comes from sustainable source. Although it's a shame they haven't released new report in a year.
Hi ABC
sustainable source or not, it doesn't matter.
Even if BTC mining electricity comes from sustainable source, they'll keep saying that BTC mining causes outages and drives price up.
I'm countering that argument.
BTC mining stabilises power grids
--> helps to avoid outages
--> lower electricity prices
(https://i.ibb.co/KW58cXP/1.png).........................(https://i.ibb.co/4Fs9gyt/1.png)
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Argentina's energy sector is increasingly turning to Bitcoin, this time with a state-owned facility using stranded natural gas from oil fields that would otherwise be wasted.
State-owned energy firm YPF's subsidiary, YPF Luz, recently partnered with Genesis Digital Assets (GDA) to launch a gas flare-powered mining facility. It will harness 1,200 machines to monetize gas currently being flared into the atmosphere.
This comes as Argentina embraces Bitcoin with the election of Bitcoin-friendly President Javier Milei in late 2023.
The news mirrors how other countries are utilizing Bitcoin mining to "clean up" energy grids.
Bhutan mines Bitcoin with renewable hydropower to consume its seasonal excess, while El Salvador uses geothermal energy to power mining with no carbon footprint.
zerohedge.com (https://www.zerohedge.com/crypto/argentina-mine-bitcoin-stranded-gas)
BTC for kiddos :D
Nice website
btcpublish.com (https://btcpublish.com/pages/about-us)
(https://i.ibb.co/yhrKjBB/1.png)...............(https://i.ibb.co/RTDg89d/2.png)
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At least for this assumption, i would use report from https://bitcoinminingcouncil.com/ (https://bitcoinminingcouncil.com/). Their report state estimate almost 60% of electricity for Bitcoin mining comes from sustainable source. Although it's a shame they haven't released new report in a year.
Hi ABC
sustainable source or not, it doesn't matter.
Even if BTC mining electricity comes from sustainable source, they'll keep saying that BTC mining causes outages and drives price up.
I'm countering that argument.
--snip--
Yes, i can see they'll just use different excuse. But IMO it still matters that they have less excuse and mining business would look somewhat better to different kind of people.
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We all know the case against BTC mining: BTC mining consumes electricity, which leads to...
There is another argument that BTC mining poses a real environmental threat from your emissions.
What arguments can the crypto community offer in order to counter that assumption?
My usual argument against this assumption is that it is not only BTC mining that is posing a danger to the environment from carbon emissions, Before mining of Bitcoin started there have always been carbon emissions from industrial actions and exhaust fumes of vehicles during transportation, and fossils have always been burnt for electricity.
No matter what we try to say to counter their arguments, these people that criticize Bitcoin a lot will always find something else to fault it with.
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We all know the case against BTC mining: BTC mining consumes electricity, which leads to...
There is another argument that BTC mining poses a real environmental threat from your emissions.
But that's BS because most mining is done with renewable energy and also using natural gas byproducts that would otherwise have been dumped into the atmosphere by oil companies.
It has a name, but I do not seem to remember what it is called.
Although, most people have stopped hashing that argument *for now* with the exception of counter-activists like Greenpeace. Maybe they will all suddenly remember these things in the next bull run?
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My usual argument against this assumption is that it is not only BTC mining that is posing a danger to the environment from carbon emissions, Before mining of Bitcoin started there have always been carbon emissions from industrial actions and exhaust fumes of vehicles during transportation, and fossils have always been burnt for electricity.
You are right, I didn't think specifically about the carbon emission issue.
And I agree with you, BTC mining carbon emissions are no threat to the environment.
When there's a reserve of electricity (caused by having lots of miners using a fixed amount of GW at any given time), then you can basically unlock it during a crisis by contractually obliging the miners to shut off their equipment.
It becomes a bit of a problem when no contractual measures or legal agreements are put in place between the utility and the miners though.
That is just a theoretical problem imo
in practice every gov can force privates to put their propriety at the service of the community during a crises. In every legal system there is this clause, either implicit or explicit.
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No matter what we try to say to counter their arguments, these people that criticize Bitcoin a lot will always find something else to fault it with.
After many years of looking at the many criticisms - valid and invalid - we are now learning many things of what people who hate Bitcoin are saying. We see that people who hate Bitcoin and its mining can always rationalize why they do so and even if are winning in our arguments we can never win the war for their support and maybe endorsement. So the most important thing is that there are now many good developments in relation to the use of sustainable energy sources and using otherwise wasted energy which is now converted to good use with BTC mining. Another thing is that for now there is actually no lack of miners who are taking the burden of the enterprise for possible profits. And I guess this is good capitalism in action while at the same injected with concern for the environment meet half-way as no business in this world is not using any power and in fact there are many industries that are also consuming a lot of power if we combined their energy requirements.
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(just re-grouping quotes from other threads about this subject)
Texas, New Hampshire, Kentucky,
political authorities recognizing BTC mining
as stabilizing power grids
(https://i.ibb.co/Cwt9ZjZ/1.png)..........................(https://i.ibb.co/8myCSj0/2.png)
(https://i.ibb.co/Y3gpRs9/5.png)..........................(https://i.ibb.co/5x9tLvm/6.png)
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Commissions paid to #Bitcoin miners increased to $1,258 $BTC, but the creation of new BTC addresses decreased to only 260,838.
P.S. Normal situation, paying 100-1k dollars per transfer is not good. Therefore, the number of created (new addresses) decreased, because people like to save money, not the other way around.
(https://i.ibb.co/9rpBB6q/image.png)
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Commissions paid to #Bitcoin miners increased to $1,258 $BTC, but the creation of new BTC addresses decreased to only 260,838.
I am not surprised to see all those transaction fees being thrown around because most of that is Runes' responsibility. After the halving, people were overpaying on TX fees like it was a tip to service workers.
You posted an outdated graphic though. Its cutoff date is at the end of April which is when the fourth halving commenced, and Runes was deployed. I would like to see how fees were in May and at least the first part of June, as well.
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- Production of electricity damages the environment.
At least for this assumption, i would use report from https://bitcoinminingcouncil.com/ (https://bitcoinminingcouncil.com/). Their report state estimate almost 60% of electricity for Bitcoin mining comes from sustainable source. Although it's a shame they haven't released new report in a year.
Around 2021, there were a lot of campaigns against miners not using the green energy. This campaign made so many miners to migrate to renewable energy source for their machines. If a current data is released, you will be surprised at the rate at which the green energy is currently used.
There are myth against bitcoin and they will continue to exist as long as bitcoin exists. While some will obviously fade away, some will remain.
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At least for this assumption, i would use report from https://bitcoinminingcouncil.com/ (https://bitcoinminingcouncil.com/). Their report state estimate almost 60% of electricity for Bitcoin mining comes from sustainable source. Although it's a shame they haven't released new report in a year.
Around 2021, there were a lot of campaigns against miners not using the green energy. This campaign made so many miners to migrate to renewable energy source for their machines. If a current data is released, you will be surprised at the rate at which the green energy is currently used.
There are myth against bitcoin and they will continue to exist as long as bitcoin exists. While some will obviously fade away, some will remain.
I don't think i'll be surprised. Website i mentioned already create a report on August 2023 which claim 59.9% BTC mining use green energy[1].
But i agree some myth wouldn't fade anytime soon.
[1] https://bitcoinminingcouncil.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/BMC-H1-2023-Presentation.pdf (https://bitcoinminingcouncil.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/BMC-H1-2023-Presentation.pdf)
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Around 2021, there were a lot of campaigns against miners not using the green energy. This campaign made so many miners to migrate to renewable energy source for their machines. If a current data is released, you will be surprised at the rate at which the green energy is currently used.
There are myth against bitcoin and they will continue to exist as long as bitcoin exists. While some will obviously fade away, some will remain.
Most of which were mainly organized by Greenpeace and Ripple-affiliated outfits as the price was going higher and higher. They did do some serious damage back then, making some vendors like Tesla pulling out of Bitcoin payments (eventually).
But we did our best to counter them. (https://bitcoincleanup.com) And I would say, we did a pretty damn good job at that.
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Major Bitcoin miners have reported their results for the past month:
1. Marathon Digital Holdings mined 616 BTC - 51% less than in the same period last year. Marathon is currently trading 17,857 BTC.
Source link: https://ir.mara.com/news-events/press-releases/detail/1359/marathon-digital-holdings-announces-bitcoin-production-and
2. Riot Platforms has mined 215 BTC, a figure 43% lower than April. The company holds 9,084 BTC and hashrate is estimated at 14.7 EH/s.
Source link: https://www.riotplatforms.com/riot-announces-may-2024-production-and-operations-updates/
3. HIVE Blockchain produced 119 BTC (3.8 BTC per day) for May, compared to 212 BTC in the previous period. The company held 2,451 BTC at the end of the month.
Source link: https://de.finance.yahoo.com/news/hive-digital-announces-may-2024-050000199.html
4. For May, Bitfarms mined 156 BTC compared to 269 BTC in April (-42%). At the end of the month, the hashrate was 7.5 EH/s and the company held 850 BTC on its balance sheet.
Link to source: https://www.globenewswire.com/en/news-release/2024/06/03/2892153/0/en/Bitfarms-Provides-May-2024-Production-and-Operations-Update.html
5. Argo Blockchain generated 45 BTC, down 55% compared to April.
Link to source: https://www.accesswire.com/871646/argo-blockchain-plc-announces-may-operational-update-tvr-and-new-shares
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CryptoQuant analysts report that miners stop selling Bitcoin - the pressure from sellers is decreasing. ;D
After the halving of Bitcoin miners started actively selling BTC on over-the-counter (OTC) markets in order to cover costs. However, now the situation is stabilizing, miners are starting to accumulate coins.
And some large companies have even started to take over competitors - for example, CleanSpark bought its competitor GRIID for $155 million, the deal will provide CleanSpark with 20 MW of production capacity.
(https://i.ibb.co/jgMkLWv/image.png)
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CryptoQuant announced signs of capitulation of miners. The latter started to shut down inefficient equipment and sell reserves. Their daily revenue dropped from $79 million in early March to $29 million. The volume of commissions in revenue fell to 3.2%, which is the lowest share since April 8.
P.S. Who has any thoughts on this? Do you trust such sources of information? Interested to hear the thoughts of other users.
(https://i.ibb.co/tcFHXsQ/image.png)
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At this BTC price, mining equipment becomes unprofitable for operators - only 6 types of asics remain profitable (S21 Hyd, S21, A1466I, S19 XP Hyd, S19 XP and M56S++). At $0.08/kWh tariff, all ASICs with efficiency less than 23 W/T are operating at a loss.
Source link: https://x.com/WuBlockchain/status/1809094803982094645
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Bitcoin mining difficulty decreased by 4.19% as a result of a scheduled recalculation. :o
The average network hashrate corrected to 621 EH/s, indicating a partial hardware shutdown. Bitcoin's correction to $58,000 is an additional factor for this.
(https://i.ibb.co/xJ1GxSJ/image.png)
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Is it more expensive to produce BTC than to buy it?
It now costs as much as $64,000 to mine a single bitcoin, with $45,500 of that amount going to electricity alone. It's getting harder and harder for miners to mine new coins, and this presents us with some interesting prospects.
Think about it: in such a situation, maybe it's more profitable to just buy bitcoin on an exchange rather than trying to mine it? History shows that BTC purchases around these levels have often been successful and brought good profits.
P.S. How long do you think miners will be able to work at zero?
(https://i.ibb.co/99KMxdJ/image.png)
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The balance of Bitcoin miners on the over-the-counter (OTC) markets has grown 70% over the past 3 months to 368,000 BTC (about $22.4 billion), a two-year high.
Historically, growth in the metric has been accompanied by a drop in the price of the first cryptocurrency, as seen in 2018 and 2021.
News: https://cryptoquant.com/insights/quicktake/66c5d689a409da60dc6a3438-Bitcoin-OTC-Desk-Balances-Soar-to-Two-Year-Peak
(https://i.ibb.co/6X1xgQb/image.png)
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The mining company Rhodium Enterprises has gone bankrupt. The company's debt is estimated at $50-$100 million, and its assets at $100-$500 million.
P.S. The bankruptcy was caused by the company's inability to repay its loans.
(https://i.ibb.co/vq3qGJR/image.png)
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BTC mining uses energy that otherwise would get lost
(https://i.ibb.co/0YXwsPH/Screenshot-2024-12-20-at-13-18-29.png)
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Bitcoin mining can be good for society and the environment, but there is disagreement about this. If Bitcoin mining is conducted properly, it will increase awareness for the environment, but major changes are needed to reduce environmental damage. Bitcoin mining will also provide employment for many people. Mining farms and related technology businesses can help local economies and employment. A stable currency like Bitcoin can create access to banking services for people, especially those who are outside of the historical banking system. It can ensure the independence of poor countries and support other economies. Bitcoin mining requires a lot of electricity, which can have a major impact on the environment due to the quantitative increase in pollution, which can damage local ecosystems and be detrimental to normal life.
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Bitcoin mining can be good for society and the environment, but there is disagreement about this. If Bitcoin mining is conducted properly, it will increase awareness for the environment, but major changes are needed to reduce environmental damage. Bitcoin mining will also provide employment for many people. Mining farms and related technology businesses can help local economies and employment.
Therefore, we can say that Bitcoin mining is not bad in itself for the environment and that depends a lot on the source and the circumstances of the energy used...like using the energy that will be lost anyway and going for renewable, green alternative. We have to remember that Bitcoin mining is a big business and all types of business are certainly using energy there is no exemption on that - yes even the traditional banking is using energy, for all we know. I am glad that slowly the mindset of many people including maybe environmentalist is already changing on Bitcoin mining and it is not anymore classified as a bad human activity that must be purged and be stopped.
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Therefore, we can say that Bitcoin mining is not bad in itself for the environment and that depends a lot on the source and the circumstances of the energy used...like using the energy that will be lost anyway and going for renewable, green alternative. We have to remember that Bitcoin mining is a big business and all types of business are certainly using energy there is no exemption on that - yes even the traditional banking is using energy, for all we know.
Well I actually don't think it's quite necessary to start evaluating energy factors and generation much before actually recognising that bitcoin mining doesn't have any direct negative effects on the ecosystem in the form of pollution. Environmental pollution from a couple of energy sources as being a problem for quite a long time now even before bitcoin was created.
One of the most popular and most used but yet pollutive system of energy generation is petroleum and the fact remains petroleum has been around for far longer than bitcoin was even created.
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- I also know that when you have Btc mining, it is really very costly in electricity and there is no doubt about that. That's why you should make sure that the earnings are higher than the consumptions that can be obtained from it.
And I think this season is a good opportunity to do bitcoin mining because most of the time the price value of bitcoin is high. And the place where we will do bitcoin mining should also be a cold location.
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I am use a host in Iowa. I am running about 30,000 usd in gear that nets me about 1800 a month after I pay the power bill. The power they use is natural gas generators .
The gas is captured when the local oil company drills for oil.
That gas used to just be released into the atmosphere.
So my gear burns 21 kwatts an hour or 504kwatts a day.
Just think how much my seven units prevent natural gas from being released into the atmosphere.
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Mining makes the electricity cost to be higher is just BS because the consumption of miners is a lot less compared to many sectors and basically availability of energy source is unlimited through the renewable source so government or the power company should utilize it if they want to increase their energy production but they always use bitcoin as a tool when they want something to blame to cover their inefficiency.
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I get the worries about BTC mining using tons of electricity, higher costs, outages, and environmental damage. But I think the crypto community's right: Mining can act like a battery, using excess power when demand's low, helping grids stabilize and even lowering prices.