Mining bitcoin is bad for the environment. According to a new paper, mining one dollar’s worth of bitcoin takes twice the energy to mind the same value of copper, gold, or platinum.
One dollar’s worth of bitcoin takes about 17 megajoules of energy to mine, according to researchers from the Oak Ridge Institute in Cincinnati, Ohio, compared with four, five and seven megajoules for copper, gold and platinum.
Mining bitcoin takes a lot of computing power, and those computers likewise need a lot of energy.
Check It Out: Mining Bitcoin Is Bad for the Environment
It’s counterintuitive, but given that greed drives geopolitical policies and Bitcoin financially incentivises the development of cheap, clean and abundant energy sources, I wouldn’t discount Bitcoin as being an ironic force for environmental good.
This article gives a good overview of why Bitcoin might actually benefit the environment in the long-run: https://www.adaptnetwork.com/environment/pow-efficient-bitcoin-not-bad-for-environment/
I’be had some back and forth with Bryan about Bitcoin. I don’t think they are good for the environment. I don’t think you come out ahead mining them after you figure the cost of the electricity and the computer. And I think they are a VERY bad investment. A ponzi scheme if there ever was one.
Just say no to cryptocurrancy.