I often hear the argument: Bitcoin mining is wasting enormous amounts of energy.

Bitcoin mining uses about the same amount of energy as a small country and that is fine!

Time for a thread:

To start, energy consumption in general is not a bad thing. Without it, civilization as we know it would simply not be possible.

If we would monetize your manual labor by putting you on a rowing machine you would have produce approximately $0.30 of value per day.
Energy grids are in nature in efficient. It is impossible to tranport electrical energy over long distances. Because of this approximately 6% of the US energy production is wasted because of losses alone. Just about 3.5X the total energy consumption of the Bitcoin network!
Varying load, seasonal or daily, poses challenges to the grid and the producers. It is for example not always possible or easy to lower supply to match demand.

This brings the need for balancing the network. Without it, the grid will become unstable.
With the increase of renewable energy, the need for load balancing solutions will continue to grow:

Solar energy only creates energy when the sun shines. Wind energy only creates energy when the wind blows.
In general, load balancing solutions are expensive. Without those solutions, excess capacity is often wasted eg: gas flaring.

Producers have to produce at sub optimal levels which hurts their profitability and stability. Excess energy is dumped or even sold at a negative price!
Today, Bitcoin miners for example use those flare gasses to mine bitcoin. Energy that otherwise would simply be wasted.

Another example are hydroelectric dams, where because of their location, sometimes the energy created can simply not be transported far enough to meet demand.
Bitcoin mining is extremely commoditized. This means net profit margins are low and the market is extremely competitive.

Therefore miners will move to the edge of the grid where energy is cheapest and there simply is no other use case, if there was, they would be outcompeted.
On top of that, Bitcoin miners are easily switched on/of if needed and can be moved if the supply/demand balance in the network changes.
Bitcoin mining can play a sustainable role in our future.

It provides an opportunity to monetize excess capacity in situations with varying load and will even help our transition towards a more sustainable future by making those solutions more profitable.
I hope this sheds some light on market dynamics in energy grids.

@saifedean @johnkvallis @stephanlivera @Breedlove22 @wmiddelkoop

More from Crypto

Out of curiosity I dug into how NFT's actually reference the media you're "buying" and my eyebrows are now orbiting the moon

Short version:

The NFT token you bought either points to a URL on the internet, or an IPFS hash. In most circumstances it references an IPFS gateway on the internet run by the startup you bought the NFT from.

Oh, and that URL is not the media. That URL is a JSON metadata file

Here's an example. This artwork is by Beeple and sold via Nifty:

https://t.co/TlJKH8kAew

The NFT token is for this JSON file hosted directly on Nifty's servers:

https://t.co/GQUaCnObvX


THAT file refers to the actual media you just "bought". Which in this case is hosted via a @cloudinary CDN, served by Nifty's servers again.

So if Nifty goes bust, your token is now worthless. It refers to nothing. This can't be changed.

"But you said some use IPFS!"

Let's look at the $65m Beeple, sold by Christies. Fancy.

https://t.co/1G9nCAdetk

That NFT token refers directly to an IPFS hash (https://t.co/QUdtdgtssH). We can take that IPFS hash and fetch the JSON metadata using a public gateway:

https://t.co/CoML7psBhF

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1/ Here’s a list of conversational frameworks I’ve picked up that have been helpful.

Please add your own.

2/ The Magic Question: "What would need to be true for you


3/ On evaluating where someone’s head is at regarding a topic they are being wishy-washy about or delaying.

“Gun to the head—what would you decide now?”

“Fast forward 6 months after your sabbatical--how would you decide: what criteria is most important to you?”

4/ Other Q’s re: decisions:

“Putting aside a list of pros/cons, what’s the *one* reason you’re doing this?” “Why is that the most important reason?”

“What’s end-game here?”

“What does success look like in a world where you pick that path?”

5/ When listening, after empathizing, and wanting to help them make their own decisions without imposing your world view:

“What would the best version of yourself do”?
THE MEANING, SIGNIFICANCE AND HISTORY OF SWASTIK

The Swastik is a geometrical figure and an ancient religious icon. Swastik has been Sanatan Dharma’s symbol of auspiciousness – mangalya since time immemorial.


The name swastika comes from Sanskrit (Devanagari: स्वस्तिक, pronounced: swastik) &denotes “conducive to wellbeing or auspicious”.
The word Swastik has a definite etymological origin in Sanskrit. It is derived from the roots su – meaning “well or auspicious” & as meaning “being”.


"सु अस्ति येन तत स्वस्तिकं"
Swastik is de symbol through which everything auspicios occurs

Scholars believe word’s origin in Vedas,known as Swasti mantra;

"🕉स्वस्ति ना इन्द्रो वृधश्रवाहा
स्वस्ति ना पूषा विश्ववेदाहा
स्वस्तिनास्तरक्ष्यो अरिश्तनेमिही
स्वस्तिनो बृहस्पतिर्दधातु"


It translates to," O famed Indra, redeem us. O Pusha, the beholder of all knowledge, redeem us. Redeem us O Garudji, of limitless speed and O Bruhaspati, redeem us".

SWASTIK’s COSMIC ORIGIN

The Swastika represents the living creation in the whole Cosmos.


Hindu astronomers divide the ecliptic circle of cosmos in 27 divisions called
https://t.co/sLeuV1R2eQ this manner a cross forms in 4 directions in the celestial sky. At centre of this cross is Dhruva(Polestar). In a line from Dhruva, the stars known as Saptarishi can be observed.