News for hackers. Stuff that matters.

A comment on Did Bitcoin just prove it can't scale?. Parent comment

Re:Did Bitcoin just prove it can't scale? by Animats on Saturday December 09, 2017 @12:47PM (#15886955)
The number I've seen is about 1 gigawatt, +- 50%. That's about one big power plant.

It could be worse. Bitcoin mining is centralized in mining centers running custom ASICs, mostly located in cold areas with cheap hydroelectric power. That wasn't the original plan. If Bitcoin mining was widely distributed, we could have a billion laptops mining in the background. Laptops running 24/7, wearing out their ICs through electromigration, and consuming power from all sources at retail rates.

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Did Bitcoin just prove it can't scale? by PaulRobinson on Saturday December 09, 2017 @04:09PM (#15888166)
They're not running in places with cheap hydroelectric. It's cheap coal. It's all coal.

https://qz.com/1054805/what-its-like-working-at-a-sprawling-...

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Did Bitcoin just prove it can't scale? by contingencies on Sunday December 10, 2017 @10:01AM (#15891656)
In Sichuan it's at least partly hydroelectric. In northern China it's probably mostly coal. People mine in other places, too, even here in Shenzhen.
[ Parent | on HN ]