It's disengenuous to make that argument without a comparison to the full manifold energy consumption required to support fiat cash... (including things like burning gasoline and jet fuel to move paper and metal for shredding/melting.)
> (including things like burning gasoline and jet fuel to move paper and metal for shredding/melting.)
In 2021, most transactions aren't made with paper cash and metal coins. It doesn't matter, though, because Bitcoin certainly isn't replacing traditional systems. The waste of Bitcoin is additive on top of any existing energy usage.
The counter argument to this that I've seen and has me thinking about Bitcoin's value again is this one:
Right now Bitcoin is an additive to the financial system, and actually promotes more usage of fiat. So if you were to compare the manifold energy consumption to Bitcoin, you need to somewhere also calculate those other effects.
I can't find a reference, but there's a good phrase that talked about how for every new innovation that comes out and is going to "completely replace X", the actual equilibrium always turns into a hybrid of the legacy systems and the new systems. Much like we've seen with Bitcoin.
So at least at this point, I find your argument disingenuous, because it doesn't take into effect the interplay of the systems.
Let's all agree that yes, it's complicated and that Bitcoin interacts with fiat currency, and that SOME of bitcoin's energy waste could be attributed to external factors.
That still leaves us with bitcoin being an environmental disaster and a net loss for humanity, apart from the few people who are benefitting from the pyramid scheme right now; Thus, changing none of the arguments against it.
What’s hilarious about this argument is that people with an axe to grind with cryptocurrency suddenly become hyper-libertarians. They criticize its waste and inefficiency, while lauding fiat currency backed by the state, with all its largesse, as a paragon of efficiency. It’s sour grapes disguised as moral righteousness.
You’re not factoring in the military industrial complex cost of military enforcement of fiat currencies. You have to be factoring in the cost of militaries, fossil fuel exploits, and more.
The cost of operating US dollars as a transactional concept is many, many, many orders of magnitude greater energy cost than Bitcoin.
I know I just replied, but I just thought of something I hadn't thought of. How many of these Bitcoin miners are using their mining rigs as heaters? I'd be more stoked on it then.
There was a Dutch company I knew that was using a distributed protocol to combine data computation in people's homes and have the heat be an actual dependable byproduct. I hope they're doing well. Such a cool idea.
All of such heating that occurs instead of using the power to drive a heat pump is at a net cost to society. Even in Iceland, generating power instead of piping the heat directly to the building is an expense.
>> Don't the vast majority of companies have clauses in contracts that say whatever you create on your particular work laptop belongs to the company? I certainly have that in my contract.
What do you think the chances are of your company actually being able to enforce said clauses?
>> Don't the vast majority of companies have clauses in contracts that say whatever you create on your particular work laptop belongs to the company? I certainly have that in my contract.
> What do you think the chances are of your company actually being able to enforce said clauses?
Moderate to Very high, depending on the jurisdiction you live in. Like I’ve seen it play out multiple times with colleagues even, and one took it to court even and lost.
>> it will likely end with ordinary people being really cynical about the motives of big tech, the financial services industry, the media, and the ruling class generally.
That's how things were from the 70s up until the internet boom.
It's going to take another paradim shift before the cynicism errodes.
