Author: R E Broadley 2021-05-09 10:21:17
Published on: 2021-05-09T10:21:17+00:00
A recent discussion on the bitcoin-dev mailing list revolved around reducing the block reward to reduce mining and thereby reducing energy expenditure. The proposal was made by a user named Karl who suggested that such a move would result in better mainstream public reputation for Bitcoin. However, it was pointed out that the block reward is already being reduced by 50% every four years. This reduction in block reward is a feature of Bitcoin's design and is intended to ensure a finite supply of BTC. It is known as halving and the latest one took place in May 2020. Halving events have historically been associated with an increase in Bitcoin's price due to the decrease in new supply. Despite this ongoing reduction in block reward, concerns about the environmental impact of Bitcoin mining continue to persist. Some estimates suggest that Bitcoin mining consumes more energy than countries like Argentina and Ukraine. However, there are also arguments in favor of Bitcoin's energy consumption, such as the use of renewable energy sources for mining and the potential for Bitcoin to enable the development of a more sustainable energy grid through incentivizing the use of excess energy.
Updated on: 2023-06-14T21:18:26.085373+00:00