Shocking Bitcoin Mining Fact Causes Fresh Backlash

As a seasoned researcher with a background in environmental studies and economics, I find myself constantly grappling with the complexities of Bitcoin mining and its impact on our planet. The recent article from The Economist has certainly piqued my interest, and it seems that the controversy surrounding this industry is far from over.


For a while now, Bitcoin mining has faced criticism from environmental advocates because it’s seen as being overly resource-intensive.

A recent article from the Economist caused a fresh backlash against the controversial industry. 

According to a well-known media source and Texas’s electric power manager, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), Bitcoin miners are paid by ERCOT not to use high electricity on days with increased demand. Last August, Riot Platforms made four times as much money from ERCOT just by temporarily reducing their mining activities.

According to American author and journalist Robert Evans, it appears that the main financial gain from large-scale Bitcoin mining operations in Texas might be coming from the state, in a sense, paying these operations not to strain or disrupt the power grid.

It’s unjust that Bitcoin miners aren’t paying for their own electricity. Instead, they should be charged more and penalized if they consume too much, not given money for NOT mining Bitcoin! This is according to Ed Zitron, CEO of EZPR, as stated in a social media post.

According to Noah Smith, a previous writer for Bloomberg Opinion, he anticipates a significant pushback towards Bitcoin mining operations in Texas.

As a crypto investor, I often ponder about hypothetical scenarios where the government might take drastic measures against Bitcoin mining operations. Recently, Kelsey D. Atherton, a military technology journalist, proposed an intriguing idea: instead of offering tens of millions of dollars to these miners not to operate, perhaps it would have been more effective for the authorities to seize their properties and cut them off the grid, thus eliminating their ability to mine cryptocurrencies. This thought-provoking suggestion sparks discussions about the potential power dynamics between governments and crypto miners in an increasingly digital world.

Others went so far as to label these strategies as “blackmail,” implying that mining corporations were using their grip on the state’s power supply as leverage for gain.

Economist Nathan Tankus likening their controversial business strategy to that of Enron, stated, “Cryptocurrencies have redesigned a more lawfully acceptable form of Enron’s ‘phantom orders,’ for which they received payment to terminate.”

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2024-08-28 09:18