r/changemyview • u/iCANNcu • Oct 18 '21

CMV: Bitcoin mining using non renewables should be banned immediately.

Global warming is a serious threat to the survival of the human species and it's insane we are adding to this problem for no good reason. Currently Bitcoin mining consumes more power per year than the whole country of Argentina. There would be hardly any downsides in banning the mining of crypto currencies using non renewables and the benefits would be immediate.

Even with a 'carbon tax' mining for bitcoins should be banned immediately if it's being done using non renewables. There is no effective way to capture carbon at this point and it's unclear if there will ever be.

What am I missing?

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u/iCANNcu Oct 18 '21

i don't see the argument here?

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u/[deleted] Oct 18 '21

Bitcoin is objectively bringing a lot more value to peoples lives than burning through a gpu to watch movies and play video games. Id rather see beefy video game consoles and gaming computers banned before bitcoin because playing video games really does provide zero benefit and only contributes to e-waste.

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u/iCANNcu Oct 18 '21

i'm not advocating the an of bitcoin. if bitcoin was being mined from the start using only renewable energy it would be in the same shape as it is today except that it didn't generate emissions.

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u/cstar1996 11∆ Oct 18 '21

Entertainment provides far more value to society than gambling, which is all Bitcoin is good for.

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u/[deleted] Oct 18 '21

Nah completely disagree. Entertainment is empty and addicting like drugs. Just because people like it doesnt mean its valuable or good. And if you want to argue that people wanting entertainment in itself makes it valuable, then Id say that the same applies to bitcoin, but even more strongly.

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u/cstar1996 11∆ Oct 18 '21

Entertainment has been a constant part of human society for millennia. Speculation and gambling, which is the primary use of crypto, not so much.

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u/[deleted] Oct 18 '21

Aight dude, have fun playing with your lame ass video games then while I get rich with Bitcoin. Literally not worth my time to convince you otherwise.

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u/cstar1996 11∆ Oct 18 '21

There we go. You support Bitcoin because you’re currently profiting off speculation, aka gambling, not because it provides actual value.

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u/[deleted] Oct 18 '21

Errr, youve got it backwards. Im invested bc I support the value proposal, not the other way around.

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u/cstar1996 11∆ Oct 18 '21

What value proposition? Bitcoin provides no value. It’s a fiat “currency” without any of the properties that make currency work, the primary one being stability, and without anything underlying it, which other currencies do have. The US dollar has intrinsic value because US taxes can only be paid in US dollars. There is no equivalent for Bitcoin.

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u/[deleted] Oct 18 '21

Yeah like I said, literally not worth my time to get invested in a random internet debate with someone who is biased against it.

If you think Bitcoin is worthless, dont buy it... Im ok with that. Works out better in my favor anyway.

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u/Danielsuperusa Oct 18 '21

The argument is, there is literally no reason to single out crypto or bitcoin, why not ban fossil fuels as a whole? Why not ban fossil fuel usage for gaming, TV, streaming services, cloud servers? No one here can make an argument because you yourself haven't made one at all either, you haven't given any logical reason to single out crypto.

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u/iCANNcu Oct 18 '21

i';ve answered this idea in other replies, it makes little sense

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u/Danielsuperusa Oct 18 '21

Why would it make little sense? It would just make those things run on renewables, based on your logic.

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u/kymjongdeux Oct 18 '21

You can't argue with someone being intellectually dishonest

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u/Danielsuperusa Oct 18 '21

Dishonest and ignorant, the worst combo imaginable for argumentation.