No it's not.
I for one think the process of "generating waste heat without any real use, in order to secure the network" called mining is the creates weak spot of Bitcoin.
Hopefully at some point someone will come up with a better way to make it financially attractive to secure the network.
Imagine all this money spend for "mining equipment" would be used to actually contribute to the network, something like "proof of bandwidth" or something, which would also help to ensure that it could handle increased transactions in the future.
PPC is close, but it's not quite there yet.
Topic: Is bitcoin mining environmentally responsible? - page 4. (Read 3168 times)
we have to plant trees then
I suppose because of competition on efficiency, Bitcoin is even more efficient than existing electronic payment systems.
This. Because energy consumption is pretty much the only cost of bitcoin mining, the only way for miners to increase their profits is to become even more energy efficient, either by developing more efficient mining hardware (eg, ASICs) or by using renewable energy sources (eg, solar power). In fact, if Bitcoin becomes widely accepted, it will directly monetise research into new forms of energy production. If the inventor of fusion power says they did it just to get free energy for their mining rig, I wouldn't be at all surprised.
You would need more qualitative data to know for sure. For instance some countries have a high or even 100% green energy. Some individuals use solar power. Some might use off-peak which would otherwise go to waste. etc.
The system is not responsible. I agree that typical currencies also have an environmental impact, but with increasing difficulty you need more procecessing power which consumes more energy. In the end the exchange rates regulate the environmental impact.
Fair point, to a newbie it could seem like such a waste of energy to get no physical return.
So as efficiency increases, more devices get used, will power going into mining (globally) decrease or increase ?
So as efficiency increases, more devices get used, will power going into mining (globally) decrease or increase ?
CO2 is good for trees 
anyway, traditional banking/economic/financial system is much much more inefficient
anyway, traditional banking/economic/financial system is much much more inefficient
Nope, it isn't. But then most money comes from trees and a huge industrial process surrounding their production, too.
+1
I suppose because of competition on efficiency, Bitcoin is even more efficient than existing electronic payment systems.
ya.ya.yo!
Nope, it isn't. But then most money comes from trees and a huge industrial process surrounding their production, too.
Just wondering what peoples thoughts are on bitcoin mining.
In a simplified case, say you mine with your pc 24 hours per day you are more than doubling your power usage (increasing carbon footprint) compared to if you used it for 12 hours or for an 8 hour working day.
In a simplified case, say you mine with your pc 24 hours per day you are more than doubling your power usage (increasing carbon footprint) compared to if you used it for 12 hours or for an 8 hour working day.
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