Bitcoin Mining Not That Wasteful In Comparison by frdem3dot0

mining · @frdem3dot0 · Nov 7 '18

$0.27

Bitcoin Mining Not That Wasteful In Comparison

![mining-excavator-1736293_1280.jpeg](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmZ1KUTTh9k7BG4wojaubttpX5fAc2tYxsYysEUNDWZTcK/mining-excavator-1736293_1280.jpeg)
[source](https://pixabay.com/en/mining-excavator-mining-1736293/)

Usually when reading the news we get the idea that bitcoins proof of work is a massive waste of energy. Certainly there is much potential for improvements that we should explore all options, but putting things into perspective bitcoin is not nearly as bad as often suggested

![Screenshot 2018-11-07 08.20.41.png](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmPCVDWjTVjduBZ74zXVGPcLGXvxXJbhDdjee7hyfPfqj3/Screenshot%202018-11-07%2008.20.41.png)
[source](https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/nov/05/energy-cost-of-mining-bitcoin-more-than-twice-that-of-copper-or-gold)

Bitcoin does need big amounts of electricity, but that is true for gold and other rare metals as well. Yet we do not hear every day how wasteful gold mining is and nobody has asked me if I dont care for the environment because of my gold ring. 

A few fun facts:
- Mining one bitcoin uses as much energy as bringing 30.000 litres water to boil; or filling your bathtub with hot water roughly thousand times.
- Aluminium mining is a far more energy hungry process using 122MJ per dollar, or six times more than bitcoin. 
- ASIC resistance seems to make mining cheaper since you do not need to commit and can do something else with your computational power. 

![farm-2852024_1280.jpeg](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmXDy5Gnr698bwi1FtBcZzKgUW7WW6kKU1Y3ZjyxyVr3PF/farm-2852024_1280.jpeg) 
[source](https://pixabay.com/en/farm-mining-the-ethereum-market-2852024/)

In the long run, there are some very interesting questions to be answered that will have big impact on the energy consumption. Can we use a mostly POS that is secured with a little POW to make old transactions immutable? Can we find a mining algorithm that not only is ASIC resistant, but also computer resistant. Can we find a better algorithm than POW?

👍 minnowsupport, msp-lovebot, rosethiyada, msp-shanehug, freebornangel, frdem3dot0, curatorbot, sbi8, freebornsociety, reversed-bidbot, inversionistam, antisocialists, johnvibes, teaholik, steeming-hot

`post_id`	65,631,396
`author`	frdem3dot0
`permlink`	bitcoin-mining-not-that-wasteful-in-comparison
`category`	mining
`json_metadata`	{"tags":["mining","bitcoin","cryptocurrency","nature","energy"],"image":["https:\/\/cdn.steemitimages.com\/DQmZ1KUTTh9k7BG4wojaubttpX5fAc2tYxsYysEUNDWZTcK\/mining-excavator-1736293_1280.jpeg"],"app":"steemit\/0.1","links":["https:\/\/pixabay.com\/en\/mining-excavator-mining-1736293\/","https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/technology\/2018\/nov\/05\/energy-cost-of-mining-bitcoin-more-than-twice-that-of-copper-or-gold","https:\/\/pixabay.com\/en\/farm-mining-the-ethereum-market-2852024\/"],"format":"markdown"}
`created`	2018-11-07 09:25:42
`last_update`	2018-11-07 09:25:42
`depth`	0
`children`	8
`net_rshares`	262,935,782,758
`last_payout`	2018-11-14 09:25:42
`cashout_time`	1969-12-31 23:59:59
`total_payout_value`	0.212 SBD
`curator_payout_value`	0.057 SBD
`pending_payout_value`	0.000 SBD
`promoted`	0.000 SBD
`body_length`	1,998
`author_reputation`	5,102,438,487,496
`root_title`	"Bitcoin Mining Not That Wasteful In Comparison"
`beneficiaries`	`[]`
`max_accepted_payout`	1,000,000.000 SBD
`percent_steem_dollars`	10,000
`author_curate_reward`	""

properties (23)vote details (15)

voter	rshares	pct
johnvibes	2,031,254,879	5%
freebornangel	16,847,844,828	32%
freebornsociety	8,696,354,513	20%
minnowsupport	81,254,832,801	2%
msp-lovebot	58,202,395,401	10%
msp-shanehug	23,838,131,049	7%
inversionistam	4,785,382,554	75%
teaholik	142,778,549	10%
rosethiyada	25,218,202,577	100%
frdem3dot0	12,053,746,971	100%
antisocialists	3,607,218,199	50%
steeming-hot	73,659,837	0.5%
sbi8	10,255,835,263	5%
curatorbot	10,747,372,100	100%
reversed-bidbot	5,180,773,237	100%

@reversed-bidbot · Nov 7 '18

This post is promoted by @reversed-bidbot as an upvote lottery with a jackpot of 0.300 steem!

There are still up to 1500 tickets waiting to be distributed. 

 Tickets are distributed according to the value of your upvotes with a __multiplier of 1500.0__. 
__Upvote the post to participate and claim your tickets!__ 

Excluded from participation are: bidbots, autovoters.

The jackpot is paid in redfish_shares by @curatorbot, giving you lifetime upvotes while supporting the redfish community. Find more information [here](https://steemit.com/help/@frdem3dot0/redfish-booster-steem-bounty-resteem-this-post-to-win-the-bounty). 

Follow me to also earn steem on my other promoted posts; or use @reversed-bidbot to hold your own raffles. For more details please visit my [discord server](https://discord.gg/N5q8GRB) or read my [introduction post](https://steemit.com/curatorbot/@reversed-bidbot/reversed-bidbot-raffles) 

<center><a href="https://steemit.com/@reversed-bidbot"><img src="https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmTZXG16gQZsMbC5D1TXSXH7wxGKzk5anKPDyXPU7CNYzE/Screenshot%202018-09-16%2021.40.26.png"/></a></center>

properties (22)

`post_id`	65,631,474
`author`	reversed-bidbot
`permlink`	re-frdem3dot0-bitcoin-mining-not-that-wasteful-in-comparison
`category`	mining
`json_metadata`	{}
`created`	2018-11-07 09:27:36
`last_update`	2018-11-07 09:27:36
`depth`	1
`children`	0
`net_rshares`	0
`last_payout`	2018-11-14 09:27:36
`cashout_time`	1969-12-31 23:59:59
`total_payout_value`	0.000 SBD
`curator_payout_value`	0.000 SBD
`pending_payout_value`	0.000 SBD
`promoted`	0.000 SBD
`body_length`	1,118
`author_reputation`	814,912,746,902
`root_title`	"Bitcoin Mining Not That Wasteful In Comparison"
`beneficiaries`	`[]`
`max_accepted_payout`	1,000,000.000 SBD
`percent_steem_dollars`	10,000

@hueso · Nov 7 '18 (edited)

$0.03

If bitcoin is at the verge of profitability (by design) against energy costs, how can aluminium even be profitable?

👍 hueso, frdem3dot0

`post_id`	65,649,632
`author`	hueso
`permlink`	re-frdem3dot0-bitcoin-mining-not-that-wasteful-in-comparison-20181107t160845127z
`category`	mining
`json_metadata`	{"format":"markdown","app":"busy\/2.5.6","users":[],"community":"busy","tags":["mining"],"links":[],"image":[]}
`created`	2018-11-07 16:08:51
`last_update`	2018-11-07 16:14:09
`depth`	1
`children`	1
`net_rshares`	36,716,914,549
`last_payout`	2018-11-14 16:08:51
`cashout_time`	1969-12-31 23:59:59
`total_payout_value`	0.028 SBD
`curator_payout_value`	0.001 SBD
`pending_payout_value`	0.000 SBD
`promoted`	0.000 SBD
`body_length`	115
`author_reputation`	262,354,724,187
`root_title`	"Bitcoin Mining Not That Wasteful In Comparison"
`beneficiaries`	`[]`
`max_accepted_payout`	1,000,000.000 SBD
`percent_steem_dollars`	10,000
`author_curate_reward`	""

properties (23)vote details (2)

voter	weight	wgt%	rshares	pct	time
hueso	0 B		23,593,479,271	100%
frdem3dot0	0 B		13,123,435,278	100%

@frdem3dot0 · Nov 8 '18

That is a very good question. In the numbers above the data for bitcoin was integrated over two years to smooth out the fluctuations. This means that there is a lot of 2016 pre boom data in there when the hash rate was low and that nowadays seems like extremely profitable mining. I guess when you take the current efficiency past boom with still high hash rate it should be comparable to aluminium.

properties (22)

`post_id`	65,685,165
`author`	frdem3dot0
`permlink`	re-hueso-re-frdem3dot0-bitcoin-mining-not-that-wasteful-in-comparison-20181108t081059722z
`category`	mining
`json_metadata`	{"tags":["mining"],"app":"steemit\/0.1"}
`created`	2018-11-08 08:11:00
`last_update`	2018-11-08 08:11:00
`depth`	2
`children`	0
`net_rshares`	0
`last_payout`	2018-11-15 08:11:00
`cashout_time`	1969-12-31 23:59:59
`total_payout_value`	0.000 SBD
`curator_payout_value`	0.000 SBD
`pending_payout_value`	0.000 SBD
`promoted`	0.000 SBD
`body_length`	399
`author_reputation`	5,102,438,487,496
`root_title`	"Bitcoin Mining Not That Wasteful In Comparison"
`beneficiaries`	`[]`
`max_accepted_payout`	1,000,000.000 SBD
`percent_steem_dollars`	10,000

@hueso · Nov 7 '18 (edited)

$0.02

The worst misconception is that if mass adoption occurs energy consumption would grow exponentially. Many journalists seem to believe this.

👍 frdem3dot0, hueso

`post_id`	65,649,832
`author`	hueso
`permlink`	re-frdem3dot0-bitcoin-mining-not-that-wasteful-in-comparison-20181107t161243697z
`category`	mining
`json_metadata`	{"format":"markdown","app":"busy\/2.5.6","users":[],"community":"busy","tags":["mining"],"links":[],"image":[]}
`created`	2018-11-07 16:12:48
`last_update`	2018-11-07 16:15:03
`depth`	1
`children`	1
`net_rshares`	24,401,930,531
`last_payout`	2018-11-14 16:12:48
`cashout_time`	1969-12-31 23:59:59
`total_payout_value`	0.019 SBD
`curator_payout_value`	0.001 SBD
`pending_payout_value`	0.000 SBD
`promoted`	0.000 SBD
`body_length`	139
`author_reputation`	262,354,724,187
`root_title`	"Bitcoin Mining Not That Wasteful In Comparison"
`beneficiaries`	`[]`
`max_accepted_payout`	1,000,000.000 SBD
`percent_steem_dollars`	10,000
`author_curate_reward`	""

properties (23)vote details (2)

voter	weight	wgt%	rshares	pct	time
hueso	0 B		11,541,872,476	50%
frdem3dot0	0 B		12,860,058,055	100%

@frdem3dot0 · Nov 8 '18

It certainly will grow though. If PoW is used to secure the global financial system than a certain non negligible fraction of that has to be put into PoW. Otherwise it will not be secure enough. But since security grows with more confirmed blocks this fraction can probably be a small fraction of the global economy. 

It is also very interesting to study the impact of ASIC resistance on this. If the algorithm is resistant almost everyone could commit some power in case of an attack which is a great deterrent for attackers. If the hash is not asic resistant, then in case of an attack little can be done. But now there is a different option. Just fork the chain before the attack and switch the hash algorithm. Now the attackers are completely ruined, but a lot of chaos was still caused and probably thousands of transactions will be double-spent. 

It is hard to see what will be cheaper and more secure.

properties (22)

`post_id`	65,685,089
`author`	frdem3dot0
`permlink`	re-hueso-re-frdem3dot0-bitcoin-mining-not-that-wasteful-in-comparison-20181108t080856511z
`category`	mining
`json_metadata`	{"tags":["mining"],"app":"steemit\/0.1"}
`created`	2018-11-08 08:08:57
`last_update`	2018-11-08 08:08:57
`depth`	2
`children`	0
`net_rshares`	0
`last_payout`	2018-11-15 08:08:57
`cashout_time`	1969-12-31 23:59:59
`total_payout_value`	0.000 SBD
`curator_payout_value`	0.000 SBD
`pending_payout_value`	0.000 SBD
`promoted`	0.000 SBD
`body_length`	910
`author_reputation`	5,102,438,487,496
`root_title`	"Bitcoin Mining Not That Wasteful In Comparison"
`beneficiaries`	`[]`
`max_accepted_payout`	1,000,000.000 SBD
`percent_steem_dollars`	10,000

@minnowsupport · Nov 8 '18

<p>Congratulations!  This post has been upvoted from the communal account, @minnowsupport, by frdem3dot0 from the Minnow Support Project. It's a witness project run by aggroed, ausbitbank, teamsteem, someguy123, neoxian, followbtcnews, and netuoso. The goal is to help Steemit grow by supporting Minnows.  Please find us at the <a href="https://discord.gg/HYj4yvw"> Peace, Abundance, and Liberty Network (PALnet) Discord Channel</a>.  It's a completely public and open space to all members of the Steemit community who voluntarily choose to be there.</p> <p>If you would like to delegate to the Minnow Support Project you can do so by clicking on the following links: <a href="https://v2.steemconnect.com/sign/delegateVestingShares?delegator=&amp;delegatee=minnowsupport&amp;vesting_shares=102530.639667%20VESTS">50SP</a>, <a href="https://v2.steemconnect.com/sign/delegateVestingShares?delegator=&amp;delegatee=minnowsupport&amp;vesting_shares=205303.639667%20VESTS">100SP</a>, <a href="https://v2.steemconnect.com/sign/delegateVestingShares?delegator=&amp;delegatee=minnowsupport&amp;vesting_shares=514303.639667%20VESTS">250SP</a>, <a href="https://v2.steemconnect.com/sign/delegateVestingShares?delegator=&amp;delegatee=minnowsupport&amp;vesting_shares=1025303.639667%20VESTS">500SP</a>, <a href="https://v2.steemconnect.com/sign/delegateVestingShares?delegator=&amp;delegatee=minnowsupport&amp;vesting_shares=2053030.639667%20VESTS">1000SP</a>, <a href="https://v2.steemconnect.com/sign/delegateVestingShares?delegator=&amp;delegatee=minnowsupport&amp;vesting_shares=10253030.639667%20VESTS">5000SP</a>. <br><strong>Be sure to leave at least 50SP undelegated on your account.</strong></p>

properties (22)

`post_id`	65,685,194
`author`	minnowsupport
`permlink`	re-bitcoin-mining-not-that-wasteful-in-comparison-20181108t081150z
`category`	mining
`json_metadata`	{"app":"beem\/0.20.9"}
`created`	2018-11-08 08:11:51
`last_update`	2018-11-08 08:11:51
`depth`	1
`children`	0
`net_rshares`	0
`last_payout`	2018-11-15 08:11:51
`cashout_time`	1969-12-31 23:59:59
`total_payout_value`	0.000 SBD
`curator_payout_value`	0.000 SBD
`pending_payout_value`	0.000 SBD
`promoted`	0.000 SBD
`body_length`	1,693
`author_reputation`	104,981,098,086,561
`root_title`	"Bitcoin Mining Not That Wasteful In Comparison"
`beneficiaries`	`[]`
`max_accepted_payout`	1,000,000.000 SBD
`percent_steem_dollars`	10,000

@steem-raffle · Nov 14 '18

$0.02

I was called to perform a provably fair random drawing for @reversed-bidbot! 

There are a 141 tickets participating in this round. 
@inversionistam holds tickets number 0 - 6 
@freebornsociety holds tickets number 7 - 20 
@frdem3dot0 holds tickets number 21 - 39 
@johnvibes holds tickets number 40 - 42 
@reversed-bidbot holds tickets number 43 - 50 
@rosethiyada holds tickets number 51 - 90 
@freebornangel holds tickets number 91 - 117 
@antisocialists holds tickets number 118 - 123 
@curatorbot holds tickets number 124 - 140 
The merkle root of the block in which this post will appear determines the winner.

👍 freebornangel, dustbunny

`post_id`	66,010,608
`author`	steem-raffle
`permlink`	re-raffle-bitcoin-mining-not-that-wasteful-in-comparison
`category`	mining
`json_metadata`	{}
`created`	2018-11-14 10:06:45
`last_update`	2018-11-14 10:06:45
`depth`	1
`children`	1
`net_rshares`	30,106,779,541
`last_payout`	2018-11-21 10:06:45
`cashout_time`	1969-12-31 23:59:59
`total_payout_value`	0.016 SBD
`curator_payout_value`	0.004 SBD
`pending_payout_value`	0.000 SBD
`promoted`	0.000 SBD
`body_length`	617
`author_reputation`	909,680,507,660
`root_title`	"Bitcoin Mining Not That Wasteful In Comparison"
`beneficiaries`	`[]`
`max_accepted_payout`	1,000,000.000 SBD
`percent_steem_dollars`	10,000
`author_curate_reward`	""

properties (23)vote details (2)

voter	weight	wgt%	rshares	pct	time
freebornangel	0 B		20,778,334,915	38%
dustbunny	0 B		9,328,444,626	3.71%

@steem-raffle · Nov 14 '18

The block in which the above post is included has a merkle root of 90a281c1be14caead123f31f3e71d3ffda60db44. 
To find the winner we: 
1. Convert the merkle root into base 10: 
 90a281c1be14caead123f31f3e71d3ffda60db44 = 825718695132838146038602873624739525370935565124. 
2. Compute the residual after dividing by the number of tickets: 825718695132838146038602873624739525370935565124 mod 141 = 1. 
3. This is the winning ticket, held by @inversionistam. 

 __Congratulations!__

properties (22)

`post_id`	66,010,694
`author`	steem-raffle
`permlink`	re-re-raffle-bitcoin-mining-not-that-wasteful-in-comparison-20181114t100839
`category`	mining
`json_metadata`	{}
`created`	2018-11-14 10:08:48
`last_update`	2018-11-14 10:08:48
`depth`	2
`children`	0
`net_rshares`	0
`last_payout`	2018-11-21 10:08:48
`cashout_time`	1969-12-31 23:59:59
`total_payout_value`	0.000 SBD
`curator_payout_value`	0.000 SBD
`pending_payout_value`	0.000 SBD
`promoted`	0.000 SBD
`body_length`	478
`author_reputation`	909,680,507,660
`root_title`	"Bitcoin Mining Not That Wasteful In Comparison"
`beneficiaries`	`[]`
`max_accepted_payout`	1,000,000.000 SBD
`percent_steem_dollars`	10,000