Virtual currency mining uses a lot of power.
A recent article in IEEE Spectrum highlights the “Ridiculous Amount of Energy it Takes to Run Bitcoin“, as well as software development efforts designed to reduce the mining footprint. On the flip side, an article in MIT Technology Review reviews efforts to use the blockchain to track clean energy production certificates, while other items focus on efforts to move mining equipment around the planet in shipping containers to jurisdictions with “cheap” power.
Because of power consumption issues spawned by BitCoin, Digiconomist assembled a Bitcoin Energy Consumption Index that correlates, loosely, with the Bitcoin price. It’s not a pretty trend, but it does make you wonder how long it will take for someone to apply strategies from other industries in an effective manner. Perhaps a certification standard similar to EnergyStar for mining appliances is overdue, together with independent power producers who target the market and generate carbon credits for trading on global exchanges.
I would also not be surprised to see California get in on the regulatory action by mandating a particular power consumption standard. Come to think of it, between pot farms and bitcoin, how long will it be before FinCEN proposes changes to IRS Form 8300 or a geographic targeting order that seeks to capture when folks use “monetary instruments” to pay their power bills?
Notwithstanding his recent claims to the contrary, maybe this was Musk’s plan all along.
FinTechLaw.IO 