Why Bitcoin mining is environmentally terrible

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"Oh, but electricity--" or "look at other stuff" is the first thing I hear whenever I publish an article about how Bitcoin is doomed. Guys, you are right, there are many other things causing electricity waste. Except Bitcoin mining is different to everything else, or at least this is what I theorize in this post, which relates directly to current events. Unfortunately, I think I'm right more than ever. Most oligarchy and governments agree. I wish I were wrong.

First of all, a quick reminder and explanation of something important to the rest of this article: Bitcoin mining is centralized. Who cares if "anyone can mine"? Most mining rigs belong only to a few people. There are very few places on Earth where mining is profitable. Some gigantic farms are located in China, where electricity is nearly free. Recent news put this under the spotlight just a few months ago.

Secondly, when it comes to greenhouse gases, there are super villains and there are thugs. Ever since the ozone layer hole was detected, the world's industries have come together to effectively reduce it. They've been successful, but their plan require everyone to get along. This isn't happening, and it's because of Chinese farms. New CFC-12 and CFC-13 emissions have been detected. CFC-13 is 16 thousands times worse than CO2!

So CFC-12 and CFC-13 are super villains, while CO2 is a small thug. Yes, CO2 is still being produced in massive quantities, but not enough to damage the ozone layer. Major legal emissions are mostly under control. The ozone layer has been recovering. But CFC-12 and CFC-13 emissions nullify this plan. What is their link with mining farms? Do you know what produces them? Old refrigeration. You see, that's what made bitcoin mining so profitable to these miners - they use very cheap cooling equipment. The kind of cooling that has seen production bans because of how hazardous they are.

China is being pressured, and it's probably going to ban all mining soon. The consequences of this lead up to Bitcoin's final demise. I've already talked about how Current events point to the mid-term death of Bitcoin, check it out if you want more details. The end of mining is the main reason cryptocurrencies in general have mostly switched out of proof-of-work. Hopefully, when this finally happens, our summers and winters can slowly get back to tolerable temperatures. But we should pay attention to the media - we don't want people to blame other cryptos too.

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Now if you believe the media and government, Bitcoin is a scam. It's for drug dealers. For years I believed in this man made climate change. Now, where does the idea of Anthropological Global Warming come from? https://conservapedia.com/Global_Warming

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It doesn't matter where it "comes from". It's scientifically accurate. Does it check out? Do due diligence to find out, like I did. Word of mouth is unnecessary when you have the knowledge.

"Conservapedia." If you visit a schizophrenic person in the middle of a breakdown in a mental hospital, and they tell you somebody is standing right behind you, what do you do? You can't be sure, unless... You look behind you.

Furthermore, if this very article ends up cited in conservapedia... Would you think I'm conservative? You would be inclined to at least consider this idea. That's how easy it is to manipulate people's opinions with half-truths. Don't get caught off guard.

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(Edited)

Can you somehow prove that bitcoin miners uses freons for cooling? Sounds like total bullshit to me. As someone who mines ETH on few graphic cards my view on this is that you just need good enough airflow to keep ambient temperature reasonably down (fans + possibly exhaust vent to dump waste heat and optionally some kind of dust filter)

Bitcoin mining might be bit different since it uses ASICs instead of GPUs but core principles are same. And even if some ASICs needed some cooling saving minuscule amount on cooling would be insane because its difference between working 2 years and 10+ years. Really bad idea to try to save less than 1% of costs here.

There are submersion cooling methods using silicon oils that don't conduct electricity, but are great thermal conductors. They are expensive and don't make equipment work better. They are great in capturing waste heat so you can repurpose it to heat water / make part of electricity back or something similar. Doesn't make much sense in China where energy is cheap.

Btw Chinese ban on mining have nothing to do with ecology. That might be official version, but China wants to get rid of bitcoin because its competition to their planned digital yuan. (which would look really bad compared to any crypto even for broad public)

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this is what I theorize in this post

Before getting in details, I clarify this is just theory, in the first first paragraph. However, I do believe in it. China isn't the only one criticizing Bitcoin mining's environmental hazards, so that's an awkward argument to follow. But the most important part in my theory is that, yes, it is a lot cheaper. Too many sources point at this direction. Below, you can read up on articles ranging from many years ago to today, and across several subjects unrelated to Bitcoin:

https://news.climate.columbia.edu/2019/01/15/heat-pumps-home-heating/
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20201204-climate-change-how-chemicals-in-your-fridge-warm-the-planet
https://www.wsj.com/articles/epa-proposes-rules-to-curb-coolant-emissions-from-air-conditioners-and-refrigerators-11620046000
https://ec.europa.eu/clima/policies/f-gas/alternatives_en

You should also check out this article from 1991 stating banned cooling emissions' efficiency: https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1991/09/29/the-costly-race-to-replace-cfcs/86e250e5-6031-4b77-88c4-9f9b6963b6b7/

Last, but not least, there is one more detail escaping thought processes around China's bans: they've never banned holding crypto. People can't pay businesses with it, but they can still buy/sell in peer-to-peer. Their crypto status isn't that far off from the USA.

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