HACKER Q&A
📣 dinobones

Are the environmental concerns around Bitcoin serious?


HackerNews is the first place I’ve heard about this, every time Bitcoin is mentioned someone will say it uses as much energy as 1/10th of the world’s concrete production and therefore it is destroying the environment.

I’ve only ever seen this view on HackerNews and some parts of Twitter.

It’s interesting to me because Bitcoin seems very much like a “hacker” topic that HN would generally like. So how and why did opinions change? Every time Bitcoin is mentioned, every reply is someone very angrily posting about environmental concerns.

  👤 _n_b_ Accepted Answer ✓
This source[1] puts bitcoin-related electricity consumption at around 165 TWh/year, which is larger than the annual consumption of all but the 23 largest countries[2].

Much of that electricity is not going to be from renewables, hydro, or nuclear, so generating CO2 and other GHG.

However, I suspect what makes it be perceived as particularly environmentally unfriendly is that there is no inherent societal value in the effort.

[1] https://digiconomist.net/bitcoin-energy-consumption/ [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_electrici...

👤 jyu
The world is becoming and increasingly complex place and the amount of available information overwhelms the human mind. Instead of spending hundreds of hours researching a single topic, thinking through the points from different perspectives and context switching, it's easier to use mental models to take short cuts. The electricity excuse results from taking a few short cuts.

It's like saying in the 90's that electric cars will never catch on. The oil and gas companies will crush them before they even get started. Or an app that allows you to hail a car? Taxi companies are one of the most corrupt areas with the biggest lobbyists, you would have to be a total moron to try that. A cryptocurrency exchange in the US? Good luck keeping your bank accounts open.

Electricity consumption is a moot point. Bitcoin is here to stay.

Often times the best opportunities are when you have done your research and conclude the exact opposite of general consensus.

👤 Trias11
FUD