Bitcoin: Bubble, Ponzi Scheme, and Environmental Disaster

By Morrowind @ Shutterstock.com

Bitcoin is a “combination of a bubble, a Ponzi scheme and an environmental disaster,” a top central-banking official recently cautioned, referring to the large amount of electricity needed to create bitcoin.

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You don’t have to tell that to the residents in Wenatchee, Washington, where a bitcoin invasion is under way. Why? Because the electricity is cheap.

“Home to hydroelectric dams that harness the flow of the Columbia River, north central Washington has some of the cheapest power in the U.S. That has made the largely rural area best known for its apple orchards a magnet for bitcoin miners, who use powerful specialized computers to generate new units of cryptocurrencies—a process that requires vast amounts of electricity to run and cool thousands of machines,” reports the WSJ.

How much power does a cryptocurrency mining operation require?

“Mining operations can squeeze into small spaces. Shoebox-size computer servers that suck up as much power as roughly 1,000 homes can be packed into a 25-by-25-foot room. Miners have popped up in unexpected places in the area: an old laundromat, a former fruit-packing warehouse, apartments, and even free-standing cargo containers,” according to the WSJ.

Sounds like a waste of utility customers’ money to me.

Bitcoin farms raise environmental concerns

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E.J. Smith - Your Survival Guy

E.J. Smith is Founder of YourSurvivalGuy.com, Managing Director at Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd., a Managing Editor of Richardcyoung.com, and Editor-in-Chief of Youngresearch.com. His focus at all times is on preparing clients and readers for “Times Like These.” E.J. graduated from Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts, with a B.S. in finance and investments. In 1995, E.J. began his investment career at Fidelity Investments in Boston before joining Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd. in 1998. E.J. has trained at Sig Sauer Academy in Epping, NH. His first drum set was a 5-piece Slingerland with Zildjians. He grew-up worshiping Neil Peart (RIP) of the band Rush, and loves the song Tom Sawyer—the name of his family’s boat, a Grady-White Canyon 306. He grew up in Mattapoisett, MA, an idyllic small town on the water near Cape Cod. He spends time in Newport, RI and Bartlett, NH—both as far away from Wall Street as one could mentally get. The Newport office is on a quiet, tree lined street not far from the harbor and the log cabin in Bartlett, NH, the “Live Free or Die” state, sits on the edge of the White Mountain National Forest. He enjoys spending time in Key West and Paris. Please get in touch with E.J. at ejsmith@yoursurvivalguy.com To sign up for my free monthly Survive & Thrive letter, click here.