Thread by Marc⚡️

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“Bitcoin wastes energy.”

Actually, no.

Bitcoin is essential to spur the MASSIVE investment in clean energy production we need.

A thread on humanity's most important topic:

🧵👇
Off the top, this is all been informed by lots of reading from the people shaping this space.

Essential follows where #Bitcoin meets energy are: @nic__carter, @Crypto_Mags, @thetrocro, @LynAldenContact, @SGBarbour, @AB_Brammer, @btc_buddhist, @ShaunEnergy and many more...
Here’s the most important fact: the world needs to produce a TONNE more energy.

As in at least 5x more! Soon. Within the lifespan of my 2 year old son👶

Today we use about 20 trillion watts of energy. Here's why humankind is headed for 100TW, at least.

www.anthropocenemagazine.org/howmuchenergy/
The world is getting richer (which is good). And globally, humans are moving into cities at a rapid pace.

More than 3 billion people are going to move to cities over the next 2-3 decades.

Pause and consider: 60% of the land that will be urban in 2035 hasn’t been built yet.
We’re not going to decouple economic growth from energy growth.

As people’s wealth rises, they want to use digital tools, they want to travel, they want to eat well, they want modern healthcare.

But we do need to decouple energy growth from growth in carbon emissions...
So we need a tool that encourages the growth of renewable energy.

Hell, even if climate change isn’t a problem, critics can surely concede a 100TW civilization cannot run on fuels made from fossils. They’re finite!

We need renewables: all of them: solar, wind, nuclear...
The best case for more energy - and how Bitcoin is a crucial part of that endeavour - is this, by @ajscalia and @btc_buddhist.

The idea that sound money and energy expansion is be a pillar of civilizational progress sounds exalted.

But it's true.

bitcoinmagazine.com/culture/bitcoin-mining-and-the-case-for-more-energy
And if you like that piece, you’ll definitely enjoy @CathedraBitcoin's recent letter to shareholders too.

It's a study in modern geopolitics, energy, recent history and macro economics. And CBDC's too!

@MartyBent def had a hand in this.

Have a read:

www.cathedra.com/investors/letters/2021-letter-to-shareholders
But production is one thing. We also need to modernize the grid.

Unlocking how we store energy through batteries would be nice. But we can’t assume that will happen.

To fix the grid, we need a fast growing, flexible demand client of new energy.

Enter #Bitcoin.
A great read on the history and future of the grid is this book by Gretchen Bakke.

It explains why our energy system needs to decentralize: toward distributed sources of power that are far more micro and resilient.

Sound familiar?

www.amazon.com/Grid-Fraying-Between-Americans-Energy-ebook/dp/B01DM9Q6CQ
It’s not like questions of how to integrate renewables, modernize the grid, and cope with distributed energy generation are tangential, either.

They’re the most important issues facing utility executives everywhere:

www.utilitydive.com/news/transmission-reliability-and-gas-system-decarbonization-top-of-mind-for-st/6...
Renewables are a challenge b/c electricity is always in a flow state.

If the wind is blowing, it needs to be used immediately. If there's too little sun, power needs to be pulled from somewhere, fast.

#Bitcoin miners are uniquely positioned to provide that service.
Why Bitcoin can support the grid was expertly laid out here by @theemikehobart, with reference to @jbelizaireCEO and @BrianBrooksUS.

Bitcoin offers utilities a new revenue stream, and it's only a matter of time before utilities realize it and pile in.

bitcoinmagazine.com/culture/how-bitcoin-mining-strengthens-electricity-grids
While we’re on the topic of bitcoin miners and the future of the grid, @SGBarbour had this a few weeks ago.

Lots here: on why mining needs to stay distributed, "computational load resource", and why fossil fuels will stay central:

bullishthoughts.substack.com/p/the-elephants-in-the-grid?s=r
Another big idea in this dialogue: for the first time, Bitcoin creates a global, fungible electricity market.

@nimacheeps presented that concept here.

Energy markets haven't yet realized this, but major Bitcoin-led disruption is coming.

www.citadel21.com/bitcoin-is-the-first-global-market-for-electricity-and-will-unleash-renewables
It’s only a matter of time before electric car charging stations are everywhere.

Picture charging stations in remote areas. Power will be running to them all the time. Cars will only be plugged in sometimes.

Why won’t the utility mine bitcoin the rest of the time?

(it will)
Alright but isn’t all the energy only going to be used by Bitcoin miners themselves and isn’t that useless?

No, for two reasons:

1: Bitcoin is valuable as a tool for free digital exchange, and as a sound money that will orient civilization away from over-consumption.

and 2:
As Bitcoin scales, it will decouple from energy use.

The shrinking block size reward, in combination with the growth of the Lightning Network, should mean that Bitcoin’s energy demand will plateau over coming decades.

By then it will have spurred a clean energy revolution.
Nearing the end.. if you're curious about the current economics of mining, @IIICapital has you covered.

Includes a stress test if the price falls to $19k (which would match the last cycle).

www.blockwaresolutions.com/research-and-publications/new-generation-mining-rigs-are-safe-haven-bitcoi...
And did you get all this way, feel convinced, but need a good intro on Bitcoin and energy to send a friend.

This video by @hello_bitcoin and @aubreystrobel is the best intro.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Z7GjXgdUy4
TLDR:

We need to multiply global energy production by 5-7x.

Assume no major advance in storage. And that we have to wait on nuclear, probably decades.

So we need a tool that encourages renewable energy to come online, everywhere, as fast as possible.

#Bitcoin is the tool.
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