Bitcoin has been able to keep the largest market share in the cryptocurrency space for the last decade. However, the flagship crypto has been criticized time and again for its PoW consensus model. Recently, crypto Twitter is seeing a new trend emerging in the social media circles about the merits of clean energy projects as a power source for Bitcoin mining farms.
In addition to the promotion of clean energy usage, cryptocurrency proponents also talked about making use of excess and unused energy resources to power up Bitcoin mining. Dennis Porter, a blockchain-related podcast host, recently sparked the discussion with a new tweet. He claimed that Bitcoin miners carry leverage for switching to clean and renewable energy resources.
Peter Gleick is an environmental scientist and advocate who recently claimed that claims that Bitcoin mining promotes green energy are nothing more than crafty lies and passive business strategies. However, the debate about clean energy advocacy through Bitcoin mining got heated when Nic Carter, the co-founder of Coin Metrics, jumped into the conversation to defend his side.
Carter claimed that Gleick does not know anything about how energy works. He did not stop there; the general partner of Venture Island went on to post a series of tweets reflecting on the importance of clean energy resources. He also claimed that Bitcoin mining eliminates the inflation pressure from energy prices that keep increasing on account of unproductive energy unit wastage.
Electric Reliability Council of Texas
Making his point about Bitcoin mining’s clean energy drive, Carter claimed that ERCOT’s excess energy units’ data each year can make it clear that Bitcoin mining can greatly improve renewable energy projects. Meanwhile, another environmental advocate on Twitter named @jyn_urso recently claimed that the Bitcoin mining industry could help accelerate the invested interest in new renewable energy projects.
The Bitcoin energy dispute got further heated up when Gleick pointed out that with an MS and Ph.D. in Energy and Resources, he is in a better position to project on the subject. A pseudonymous Twitter account claiming to be a Wikipedia page editor recently joined the debate asking to use the argument as an example of fallacy and cognitive bias. Thus far, Bitcoin miners in Norway have managed to switch 100% to renewable energy resources.