Is Bitcoin a Waste of Electricity, or Something Worse?
Is Bitcoin a Waste of Electricity, or Something Worse?
Mr. Read said that Bitcoin mining now consumes about 10 percent of the city’s power, and
that is forcing Plattsburgh to buy a growing amount of extra electricity on the open market, at rates up to 100 times higher than its base cost.
“Enel has undertaken a clear path toward decarbonization and sustainable development and sees the intensive use of energy dedicated to cryptocurrency mining as an unsustainable practice
that does not fit with the business model it is pursuing,” the company, partly owned by the Italian government, said in a statement.
Some economists see evidence that people are playing video games instead of going to work, logging on instead of getting it on,
and plowing a growing share of their time, capital and natural resources into virtual products like social media, games and the latest fad: virtual currencies.
Mr. Read, who is also an economics professor, said he would rather sell the city’s
supply of cheap power to companies employing large numbers of people.
Mr. Read said that Bitcoin mining now consumes about 10 percent of the city’s power, and
that is forcing Plattsburgh to buy a growing amount of extra electricity on the open market, at rates up to 100 times higher than its base cost.
“Enel has undertaken a clear path toward decarbonization and sustainable development and sees the intensive use of energy dedicated to cryptocurrency mining as an unsustainable practice
that does not fit with the business model it is pursuing,” the company, partly owned by the Italian government, said in a statement.
Some economists see evidence that people are playing video games instead of going to work, logging on instead of getting it on,
and plowing a growing share of their time, capital and natural resources into virtual products like social media, games and the latest fad: virtual currencies.
Mr. Read, who is also an economics professor, said he would rather sell the city’s
supply of cheap power to companies employing large numbers of people.