News Just 137 crypto miners use 2.3% of total U.S. power — government now requiring commercial miners to report energy consumption

[Admin]

The U.S Energy Information Administration is now requiring large-scale cryptomining operations to report their energy consumption. Inevitably this will bring about new regulations that will restrict the energy consumption of miners in the future.

Just 137 crypto miners use 2.3% of total U.S. power — government now requiring commercial miners to report energy consumption : Read more

 

[NinoPino]

2.3% if true is a crazy amount of energy for only 137 entities, I hope it is overestimated.
But somebody knows some legitimate uses for cryptocurrencies (apart ransom, scam, extorsions and so on) ?

 

[digitalgriffin]

2.3% if true is a crazy amount of energy for only 137 entities, I hope it is overestimated.
But somebody knows some legitimate uses for cryptocurrencies (apart ransom, scam, extorsions and so on) ?

You forgot tax evasion, money laundering, and purchasing of illict goods.

 

[umeng2002_2]

Electricity is a market. Who cares how much they used? Generate more.

 

[weber462]

What advancements would have been made if that energy was used for scientific research?

 

[derekullo]

Electricity is a market. Who cares how much they used? Generate more.

Generating more electricity is easy just build a new power plant or add upgrades to an existing one.
Getting customers to pay more each month to finance an upgrade to an existing power plant or to build a new power plant all to satisfy the energy needs of a crypto-mining operation is the hard part.

 

[Kashmir74]

Electricity is a market. Who cares how much they used? Generate more.

Useless and most immoral take ever.

 

[Order 66]

Useless and most immoral take ever.

If said electricity is generated using renewable resources, that's fair, but most of it won't be at least not yet, anyway.

 

[derekullo]

2.3% if true is a crazy amount of energy for only 137 entities, I hope it is overestimated.
But somebody knows some legitimate uses for cryptocurrencies (apart ransom, scam, extorsions and so on) ?

Arguably bitcoin's price is more stable than the Venezuelan bolívar which is experiencing 193% inflation as of 2023.

 

[NinoPino]

You forgot tax evasion, money laundering, and purchasing of illict goods.

Oh sorry.😀

 

[Kamen Rider Blade]

They need to be regulated into oblivion.

Crypto Currency offers nothing of value to society.

 

[PEnns]

2.3% if true is a crazy amount of energy for only 137 entities, I hope it is overestimated.
But somebody knows some legitimate uses for cryptocurrencies (apart ransom, scam, extorsions and so on) ?

Arguably bitcoin's price is more stable than the Venezuelan bolívar which is experiencing 193% inflation as of 2023.

Seriously? You couldn't have chosen a more worthless currency?

Setting the bar so low is what one would expect from crypto fans.

 

[Amdlova]

Just tax same amount a data center pay

 

[PEnns]

What advancements would have been made if that energy was used for scientific research?

I don't know, maybe discovering something as trivial as finding a drug to save the lives of some people or even the ones you care about?

I understand some people hate science because they have been told to, but let's not compare mining crypto to science!

 

[NinoPino]

Electricity is a market. Who cares how much they used? Generate more.

Sarcastic I suppose.

 

[helper800]

If only paranoia and rampant lobbying didn't essentially kill nuclear power in the US. Its clean, and the spent fuel is reusable, recyclable, or at the very least storable. The amount of radiation from spent fuel is not even very radioactive, it just has a decently long half-life. We could power all of the US with 50-100 nuclear power plants for half or less the cost of the status quo. I am also very against crypto for above mentioned reasons, but at this point its not going to just fizzle out.

Oh and by the way, lighting alone accounts for about 5% of US energy usage. If you can find them for your usage, LED bulbs last longer and are anywhere between 2-10x as energy efficient as traditional bulbs. LED bulbs cost about 2.5 times traditional bulbs but are so efficient that they recoup that in your electricity bill in about 2-3 months of usage.

 

[wingfinger]

Bit coins are not illegal but not paper working us is. ....sidestepping the issue again, oh yea.

 

[ror-alucard]

If only paranoia and rampant lobbying didn't essentially kill nuclear power in the US.

The US is the largest producer of nuclear power in the world and 20% of our total power output comes from nuclear plants.

 

[atomicWAR]

If said electricity is generated using renewable resources, that's fair, but most of it won't be at least not yet, anyway.

Yes and no. It would be a better solution than fossil fuels but many 'clean' energies have their own costs involved, environmentally speaking. Wind farms are a hazard for birds and when at sea, there is a growing body of evidence they harm whales, dolphins and other aquatic mammals do to the sound on top of birds (again).

Then you take solar which uses up huge swaths of land that needs to be cleared and leveled. It shown to be hard on native species of plant and animals, it increases erosion from said clearing of vegetation damages the ecosystem etc etc.

And then you have nuclear power which leaves you with hazardous waste (not as bad as some people think it is but still). Now the small/modular nuclear reactor push would help but it still doesn't solve all the issues with nuclear power.

There is no such thing as a free lunch. And as stated by others...their is the fact the these facilities bill everyone for their infrastructure equally. So 97.7% of the public/commercial sector, pays for these plants that the 2.3% of crypto consumers are 'abusing'.

I am not saying there isn't workarounds. Force large mining op's to pay for these plants/upgrades would be one example that would make things fairer for the average consumer. But that still leaves all the environmental concerns attached. I am not exactly anti-crypto but I am certainly wary of the cost to our power grid and the environmental damage that entails.

 

[helper800]

The US is the largest producer of nuclear power in the world and 20% of our total power output comes from nuclear plants.

And you will see that as time moves forward we will be decommissioning our nuclear power plants rather than commissioning more of them. Take California, my home state, for example. We have one working nuclear power plant from the 70-80s and it will be decommissioned instead of upgraded or recommissioned. This is a shame because it provides a state with nearly 40 million people 9% of the states total power production.

 

[umeng2002_2]

Useless and most immoral take ever.

Immoral how? This whole energy restriction death cult will be civilization's undoing.

 

[NinoPino]

If only paranoia and rampant lobbying didn't essentially kill nuclear power in the US. Its clean, and the spent fuel is reusable,

It is not clean at all, simply do not emit CO2. And it is even less clean if you consider 3 Miles Island, Chernobil or Fukushima (only to list most famous).

recyclable, or at the very least storable. The

"recyclable" is not the word I would have used, after 2 or 3 times you have to store the waste somewhere.

amount of radiation from spent fuel is not even very radioactive, it just has a decently

for real, not mutagene or deadly radioactive ?

 

[helper800]

Yes and no. It would be a better solution than fossil fuels but many 'clean' energies have their own costs involved, environmentally speaking. Wind farms are a hazard for birds and when at sea, there is a growing body of evidence they harm whales, dolphins and other aquatic mammals do to the sound on top of birds (again).

Then you take solar which uses up huge swaths of land that needs to be cleared and leveled. It shown to be hard on native species of plant and animals, it increases erosion from said clearing of vegetation damages the ecosystem etc etc.

And then you have nuclear power which leaves you with hazardous waste (not as bad as some people think it is but still). Now the small/modular nuclear reactor push would help but it still doesn't solve all the issues with nuclear power.

Your points are reasonable but you have understated a lot here, in my opinion. For instance along with the stated issues of traditional renewables you have issues like turbine blades from wind energy going directly into landfills and old solar cells and related e-waste from solar are in a similar situation. The production of turbines, their blades, solar cells, electronics, other components largely negates the positives they have on our environment. These renewable are still a net positive, but that does not mean that they do not create problems of their own kind. As far as the hazardous waste goes for nuclear power generation, people really have no idea how dangerous it is so they assume it will kill them if they are within 100 yards, when in reality the waste is so well contained, being anywhere near the waste is akin to normal background radiation.

 

[USAFRet]

Arguably bitcoin's price is more stable than the Venezuelan bolívar which is experiencing 193% inflation as of 2023.

Thats a VERY low bar to beat.

 

[redgarl]

If said electricity is generated using renewable resources, that's fair, but most of it won't be at least not yet, anyway.

Even here, we are using more than 90% of green electricity, and the government is doing everything to discourage miners to come here. Crypto is a ponzi scheme wasting natural resources for speculating and maintaining organized crime.