In this episode, we sit down with Troy Cross to examine the environmental impact of bitcoin mining and its potential role in stabilizing energy grids. Troy shares his journey into bitcoin and peer-to-peer systems, addressing early concerns about energy consumption and how his views have evolved. We explore key data from bitcoin miners on energy usage and discuss the challenges of gathering accurate information. Troy highlights bitcoin mining’s unique flexibility in reducing emissions and compares its energy impact to other technologies like AI. We also cover the political implications of bitcoin, potential risks, and the importance of effective branding for bitcoin’s future growth.

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TIMESTAMPS:

00:00 Introduction

01:40 The environmental impact of bitcoin mining

04:28 How Troy got into bitcoin and peer-to-peer systems

07:33 Early concerns about bitcoin’s energy consumption

11:21 Bitcoin’s role in stabilizing energy grids

14:53 Data from bitcoin miners on energy consumption

18:47 Challenges in gathering bitcoin mining data

21:25 Bitcoin mining’s flexibility and reduced emissions

25:02 Halvings, miners, and price

28:37 Bitcoin’s superpower: Flexible energy consumption

32:12 Comparing bitcoin to AI in energy use

34:44 The future of energy and bitcoin

38:12 How bitcoin mining adapts to market conditions

42:28 Political ramifications of bitcoin

46:08 The biggest risk to bitcoin

50:09 Bitcoin’s branding challenges

54:12 Closing thoughts

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→ Joe Burnett’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/IIICapital

→ Troy Cross’s Twitter: https://x.com/thetrocro

→ Troy’s bitcoin ownership report: https://www.thenakamotoproject.org/report

→ Troy’s bitcoin mining report: https://www.btcpolicy.org/articles/bitcoin-mining-reduces-carbon-emissions