According to US politicians, the PoS consensus is better than PoW because it consumes less power and is less polluting. The Bitcoin Mining Council proves that the politicians base their calculations and arguments on prejudice, not facts.
The Bitcoin Mining Council (BMC) recently rejected the arguments made by several US politicians against the activity. The consortium of companies supporting the industry explained that the congresspeople who criticize it need education.
Michael Saylor, Mike Novogratz, Jack Dorsey, and other leaders in the Bitcoin (BTC) ecosystem comprise the Council. They recently criticized the request for greater regulation on the industry by 23 US congresspeople to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
The politicians stated that Bitcoin mining harms the environment and poisons the water in the communities. BMC representatives consider that those claims are misperceptions already discredited by the industry in the past.
They Mistake Bitcoin Mining Farms with Power Generation Plants
The politicians claimed that Bitcoin mining farms pollute communities and contribute to greenhouse gases. The BMC said that the congresspeople are mistaking data processing centers with electricity generating plants, where the contamination occurs.
They also argued that mining farms do not emit CO2 beyond the heat machines generate, which ventilation systems dissipate and control. They contrasted this with other industries, which they said pollute the environment.
On the contrary, the BMC defended that many miners employ renewable energy for their operations. A study by the Council indicates the industry uses about 58.4% of sustainable energy, moving away from fossil fuel sources.
They Say that a Bitcoin Transaction Could Power a House
The BMC also rejected the claim that a Bitcoin transaction consumes enough energy to power an American house for a month.
The Council stated that this is patently and demonstrably false since it would not require more energy than a tweet or a Google search. They recalled that the issuance of Bitcoin through mining is decreasing, as 90% of the total supply is already in circulation.
They also mentioned the Lightning Network, the micropayment layer of Bitcoin that mirrors how the payment systems work. In addition, the BMC clarified that an increase in Bitcoin payments would not necessarily imply a proportional rise in energy consumption.
They Believe that the PoS Consensus Is Superior to PoW
According to the congresspeople, the Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus is better than PoW because it consumes less power. Furthermore, they qualify it as a cryptocurrency mining technology, which the BMC considers unfeasible
The Council clarified that PoS is not a technology but a technique for determining authority over a distributed blockchain without achieving decentralized distribution.
The BMC explained that the PoS consensus mechanism has a limited history and that the founders of an association control it. In addition, they point out that it has failure points and doubt that it can effectively govern a global and apolitical monetary system.
The US Environmental Protection Agency now has both views on the Bitcoin mining industry. It remains to see whether the state centralization will follow the arguments of the politicians or study the case in depth.
By Alexander Salazar
