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A comment on The political case for a blanket cryptocurrency ban. Parent comment

Re:The political case for a blanket cryptocurrency ban by tgsovlerkhgsel on Wednesday March 31, 2021 @01:33PM (#26650268)
They're very similar to gold in this regard. They have a value because people think they have a value. They're a lot easier to store, transport and transact with than gold bars though.

And I have my doubts whether Bitcoin mining is more destructive than gold mining. It's possible (it's a LOT of energy), but gold mining is also pretty nasty.

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Re:The political case for a blanket cryptocurrency ban by webinvest on Wednesday March 31, 2021 @05:49PM (#26653575)
Bitcoin mining is not destructive. The production of electricity via Coal, natural gas, oil, and biomass is. It makes more sense to ban the direct source of these carbon dioxide emissions than the downstream users of the electricity. Cryptocurrency mining is very compatible with renewable energy sources because it can be mined from anywhere, the energy usage is very predictable, and the mining can tolerate rare occurrences of loosing power. The publicly traded company RIOT sources 100% of it’s bitcoin mining energy from renewable sources.

Also, as a comparison, nearly all the gold mining machinery runs on gasoline.

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