> The primary beneficiaries of this will be organized crime
Michael Morell, a former acting director of the CIA, has some things to say about the use of BTC in crime:
> Based on our research and discussions with industry experts, I have confidence in two conclusions:
• The broad generalizations about the use of Bitcoin in illicit finance are significantly overstated.
• The blockchain ledger on which Bitcoin transactions are recorded is an underutilized forensic tool that can be used more widely by law enforcement and the intelligence community to identify and disrupt illicit activities. Put simply, blockchain analysis is a highly effective crime fighting and intelligence gathering tool.
There's also a strong (IMO) argument that energy-intensive crypto-mining can make renewable energy more competitive, by only mining when renewables are producing excess power. That lessens the problem of renewables creating excess energy (which can be damaging to power grids).
I'm not trying to downplay El Salvador's vulnerability to climate change. But actual solutions to climate change - or even just mitigating its effects - is going to require considerable capital and other resources. If using BTC gives El Salvador an economic advantage, then more power to them.
> There's also a strong (IMO) argument that energy-intensive crypto-mining can make renewable energy more competitive
If this is true then the goal is to create a mining algorithm that focuses on being as wasteful as possible.
> by only mining when renewables are producing excess power.
This is simply not true. There is no such thing as excess power, whatever is not used should be stored or sold to other countries.
> (which can be damaging to power grids).
Excess energy production has always been a thing and there are mitigation efforts in place much better than "lets put a server farm that wastes energy"
> I'm not trying to downplay El Salvador's vulnerability to climate change. But actual solutions to climate change - or even just mitigating its effects - is going to require considerable capital and other resources. If using BTC gives El Salvador an economic advantage, then more power to them.
The problem here is El Salvador is basically burning its clothes to keep itself warm. any cryptocoin would've been a better solution. hell even dogecoin would've been a better choice.
> If this is true then the goal is to create a mining algorithm that focuses on being as wasteful as possible.
This wouldn't be profitable for miners, so the economics of the coin would collapse. Bitcoin is designed to balance these incentives.
> This is simply not true. There is no such thing as excess power, whatever is not used should be stored or sold to other countries.
You don't understand power grids. Electricity is diminished the further it travels over transmission lines. Only fossil fuels like oil can be "stored and sold to other countries", renewables don't work like this. Excess power generated by renewables, and even by some non-renewables, is frequently wasted because (at certain times) it's either not economically feasible to transport it to population centers, or the grid is at full capacity. You can't pump that excess power into the grid or you will break it.
> Excess energy production has always been a thing
Sure, but this is a new solution.
> and there are mitigation efforts in place much better than "lets put a server farm that wastes energy"
Why do you think current plans are better? Bitcoin mining gives a financial incentive to produce renewables as a direct result of the technical details of power grids. You're being awfully dismissive for someone who knows so little.
Michael Morell, a former acting director of the CIA, has some things to say about the use of BTC in crime:
> Based on our research and discussions with industry experts, I have confidence in two conclusions: • The broad generalizations about the use of Bitcoin in illicit finance are significantly overstated. • The blockchain ledger on which Bitcoin transactions are recorded is an underutilized forensic tool that can be used more widely by law enforcement and the intelligence community to identify and disrupt illicit activities. Put simply, blockchain analysis is a highly effective crime fighting and intelligence gathering tool.
Source: https://casebitcoin.com/story/former-cia-director-finds-bitc...
There's also a strong (IMO) argument that energy-intensive crypto-mining can make renewable energy more competitive, by only mining when renewables are producing excess power. That lessens the problem of renewables creating excess energy (which can be damaging to power grids).
I'm not trying to downplay El Salvador's vulnerability to climate change. But actual solutions to climate change - or even just mitigating its effects - is going to require considerable capital and other resources. If using BTC gives El Salvador an economic advantage, then more power to them.