Quote from: Samarkand on February 17, 2018, 10:09:39 AM

I´m tired of hearing the argument "but Bitcoin wastes more energy than
a whole country..." all over the mainstream media.

Here are a few reasons why the energy that is consumed by Bitcoin mining is not wasted:
1. The energy that is consumed by Bitcoin mining is the foundation of the security of the network
2. Proof-of-work is superior to other consensus algorithms like Proof-of-Stake and offers less attack vectors
3. Fiat currencies are supposedly backed by the power of the state... meanwhile the US military consumes more energy than Bitcoin mining per year
(this is a comparison of the military of a single country compared to a truly global currency)
4. No one is talking about the enormous costs of transporting fiat money, securing it and printing it in the first place
5. The mining of other commodities is extremely energy-intensive as well

If you take all these factors into account, Bitcoin may actually be less energy-intensive than traditional
fiat currencies. Besides, many mining companies have set up their operations in countries with an abundance
of renewable energies like Canada or Iceland. The days where Bitcoin was solely mined in rural Mongolia and China
may finally be behind us.

There are entire countries that are basically dedicated to the mining industry, to get gold and silver or other commodities.

Fiat currency printing presses are running 24/7 as well.

People act like that energy is the primary argument for not investing or adopting bitcoin. But then they proceed to waste energy in their own homes. For sure, this energy use can be optimized, but people have been exaggerating it and also been using it as an argument against bitcoin. Which I personally think doesn't affect the world as much as they think it does.