Cryptodamages: Monetary value estimates of the air pollution and human health impacts of cryptocurrency mining
www.sciencedirect.com
Cryptocurrency mining uses significant amounts of energy as part of the proof-of-work time-stamping scheme to add new blocks to the chain. Expanding u…
    • fidibus@lemmy.161.social
      35·
      4 years ago

      Yeah at best it can be used to speculate, just with gold etc.

      But that’s really the most use for it…

  • onlooker
    101·
    4 years ago

    That reminds me of this picture. The insane amounts of energy required for mining is a problem that we need to tackle. Bitcoin is still the gold standard, but it’s time to move on to other, greener coins.

    Just don’t ask me which ones, I’m still figuring that one out.

  • leanleft
    1·
    4 years ago

    i did some math on the damage per person. it comes out to $20 per user, per month, for 2021 if all US users held an equal amount.
    edit: when i did the calculation, i multiplied the damage x6. because price is 6x as high as it was for the study. the more the price goes up, the more incentive to mine. but i don’t think the damage jumps up by 6 instantly. recent news articles indicate that big miners expanded by x2 or x3. not x6.
    it could grow later. …or not.

  • ✝️ Steve Jail ✝️
    511·
    4 years ago

    I need every environmental expense compared to your average jet, train, or ship for me to take it seriously tbh

  • throwaway96581
    39·
    4 years ago

    Maybe Bitcoin mining takes much energy but this “research” is ridiculous. Each coin might be here for several thousands of years just like gold.

    Soon perhaps within a decade most energy production will be sustainable.

    It would be easy to forbidd unsustainable mining. If that were the case it would drive investment into sustainable energy.

    But they can’t do that. It would mean losing a negative talking point.

    There is a very big chance Bitcoin might even accelerate the race to fusion energy.

    Bitcoin plus fusion energy could propell humanity into a new kind of era.

    The protection from inflation Bitcoin provides makes corruption, dictatorship and fascism way more difficult.

    Corruption often badly damages the environment.

    Hard to put a value on that.

    https://www.powermag.com/fusion-energy-is-coming-and-maybe-sooner-than-you-think/