The Microstrategy executive Michael Saylor is a big believer in Bitcoin as his company has purchased close to 130,000 bitcoin during the last few years. Six days ago, the U.S. Office of Science and Technology Policy published a report that claims proof-of-work mining operations have been affecting climate change. The science and tech department believes the Biden administration needs to take action against the industry and create mining standards and regulations. Following the report, Saylor published a letter addressed to journalists, investors, and regulators concerning the “sheer volume of misinformation [and] propaganda circulating lately.”
Microstrategy’s Executive Chairman Publishes a Blog Post That Discusses Bitcoin and the Environment
Microstrategy’s Michael Saylor published a tweet that leads to a recent blog post he wrote concerning Bitcoin and the environment. “Given the sheer volume of misinformation [and] propaganda circulating lately, I thought it important to share the truth regarding Bitcoin Mining and the Environment,” Saylor wrote with a link to his blog post.
The editorial is called “Bitcoin Mining and the Environment” and it discusses topics such as “Bitcoin Energy Utilization,” “Bitcoin vs. Other Industries,” “Bitcoin Value Creation & Energy Intensity,” “Bitcoin vs. Other Cryptos,” “Bitcoin & Carbon Emissions,” “Bitcoin & Environmental Benefits,” and “Bitcoin & Global Energy.” Each topic shows how a number of environmental misconceptions about the Bitcoin network can be looked at in a different manner.
“Bitcoin runs on stranded, excess energy, generated at the edge of the grid, in places where there is no other demand, at times when no one else needs the electricity,” Saylor’s blog post says. “Retail [and] commercial consumers of electricity in major population areas pay 5-10x more per kWh (10-20 cents per kWh) than bitcoin miners, who should be thought of as wholesale consumers of energy (normally budgeting 2-3 cents per kWh),” the Microstrategy executive’s editorial adds.
Saylor stresses that he believes the world produces a whole lot more energy than the planet actually needs. “Approximately a third of this energy is wasted,” Saylor insists. “The last 15 basis points of energy power the entire Bitcoin Network – this is the least valued, cheapest margin of energy left after 99.85% of the energy in the world is allocated to other uses.”
In the topic concerning “Bitcoin vs. Other Industries,” Saylor cites a Bitcoin Mining Council presentation. The Microstrategy executive also talked about the Bitcoin network and the environmental benefits the technology has to offer. Saylor mentioned the CEO of Geneious and ESG analyst, Daniel Batten, who published a number of papers about the subject.
Bitcoin.com News reported on Batten’s work in May, after a particular study Batten worked on said that bitcoin mining has the potential to eliminate 0.15% of the world’s global warming by 2045. He also argued in the paper that no other technology could eliminate emissions better than Bitcoin.
“There is an increasing awareness that Bitcoin is quite beneficial to the environment because it can be deployed to monetize stranded natural gas or methane gas energy sources. Methane gas emissions’ curtailment is particularly compelling and [Daniel Batten] has written some impressive papers on this subject. It has also become clear that energy grids that rely primarily on sustainable power sources like wind, hydro, & solar can be unreliable at times due to lack of water, sunlight, or wind.” Saylor added:
“In this case, they need to be paired with a large electricity consumer like a bitcoin miner in order to develop grid resilience & finance the buildout of additional capacity necessary to responsibly power major industrial/population centers. The recent example of major Bitcoin energy curtailment on the ERCOT grid in Texas is an example of the benefits of bitcoin mining to sustainable power providers.”
The Microstrategy executive chairman cites two links tied to the Bitcoin Mining Council’s research. Saylor also shares the macro environment research website casebitcoin.com. The Microstrategy executive’s blog post concludes by thanking people for their interest in Saylor’s researched blog post. Microstrategy currently holds 129,698 BTC on its balance sheet, according to current bitcoin treasuries lists.
What do you think about the Microstrategy executive chairman’s blog post about the Bitcoin network and the environment? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.
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