You may have heard that Bitcoin went up a bit last night. The granddaddy of cryptocurrencies has crossed the $100,000 threshold, setting an all-time high. Bitcoiners still appear to be very enthusiastic about a more crypto-friendly President Trump in office.
Rising Bitcoin prices are also very good for Bitcoin miners, the companies with the powerful computers that keep the entire blockchain running. But what's good for Bitcoin miners may not be so great for our environmental goals.
Naturally, Bitcoin miners receive compensation in Bitcoin. So when the price of Bitcoin spikes by $40,000, as it has since April, Bitcoin mining giant Mara Holdings stands to make more money, at least for a while.
Fred Thiel, CEO of Mara Holdings, said: “We've had what we call a bullish period in the industry, where prices are rising much faster than miners can add capacity, so miners are making a lot of money.'' can be obtained.''
Ultimately, competition from Teal will intensify as other Bitcoin miners connect more and more machines to the grid to chase digital gold.
But generally speaking, he expects the good times for mining to continue, thanks in part to President-elect Donald Trump.
“He wants the United States to be the largest country when it comes to Bitcoin mining, and he wants Bitcoin miners to have equal and fair access to energy,” Thiel said.
Bitcoin mining consumes large amounts of electricity, more than the entire country of Poland consumes in a year.
Liz Moran, a policy advocate at environmental advocacy group Earthjustice, said crypto mining is fueling fossil fuel energy sources.
“In some parts of the country, gas plants that were actually shut down are being turned on and put back into operation just for the purpose of crypto mining,” she said.
Bitcoin mining is not the only new technology putting significant new strain on the energy grid. Artificial intelligence companies are now competing with Bitcoin miners for the same power sources to power large data centers.
Kristin Smith, CEO of the Blockchain Association, said that so far, cryptocurrencies have faced political backlash.
“I don't think there's ever been this much scrutiny on AI, and certainly as it gets bigger, I think it's probably going to increase,” she said.
Smith said the real solution is to first add clean energy sources to the grid.
There's a lot going on in the world. For everything, Marketplace is here for you.
You use the Marketplace to analyze world events and communicate how they affect you in a factual and approachable way. We rely on your financial support to continue making that possible.
Your donation today helps power the independent journalism you depend on. For as little as $5 a month, you can help sustain our marketplace. This allows us to continue reporting on the things that matter to you.
