Author: ZmnSCPxj 2021-05-23 13:35:12
Published on: 2021-05-23T13:35:12+00:00
The discussion revolves around the reduction of Bitcoin block rewards and its impact on mining incentives and energy consumption. It is suggested that increasing popularity of Bitcoin raises fees and energy use, but if it becomes an issue, block size could be raised to lower fees. There is little economic incentive to fine carbon emissions, and those who care about reducing energy use would be better put to look at other concerns. The need to enforce that pollution should be paid for by those who cause it is highlighted. The proof of efficiency in Bitcoin mining is implicit, making it difficult to prove short-term polluting by miners. The best way to deal with it is to have some authorities sign off on whether or not they are doing this, but the problem is that authorities are bribeable. Alternatively, other entities in the locality can use force to require the polluting entity to clean up or suffer significant consequences, but the ability to enforce may be difficult due to various political constructions.
Updated on: 2023-06-14T22:10:11.021343+00:00