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Nice job steelmanning the climate argument for bitcoin!

I also looked into this recently, and my take is a bit more nuanced. Yes bitcoin miners accelerate renewables, but is that really good for the planet in itself? I argue that it isn't if most of the renewable energy that bitcoin miners helped finance goes back into powering bitcoin miners instead of replacing existing carbon-intensive electricity generation. See https://climatechain.substack.com/p/bitcoin-miners-and-renewable-energy

I'd also say that the argument for bitcoin as an alternative to petro-dollars is an argument for any other currency, not just an argument for bitcoin.

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Mar 29, 2022Liked by Antoine Dusséaux

Excellent summary of the current clearest thinking on the Bitcoin energy matter!

If a person wants a knee-jerk Bitcoin negative to point to re: energy, they will always find that "Bitcoin boils the oceans" convinces people with no prior knowledge. But, as we investigate how energy production works at a grid level infrastructure, we see how mining can be an amazing tool to smooth demand and boost profit margins on waste energy.

I'm confident that the false narrative will slowly crack, Soviet style, and the beneficial technology will win out despite much shunning. I think Exxon and ConocoPhilips have publicly admitted to some trial flare gas mining, which is solving a real and costly problem.

Ultimately, as Antoine so clearly points out, you either find value in Bitcoin or you don't, and that will matter more in your cost/benefit analysis than any other factor.

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