There has been a lot of criticism about Bitcoin (BTC), and the process of generating new coins through mining, which governments and even industry veterans claim are energy-intensive. The current view on the high energy demands of BTC has pushed China to crack down on mining activities by sending out all miners in the country. The regulatory efforts to shut down crypto activities have even pushed major mining equipment manufacturer, Bitcoin to halt its product supply to mainland China.
The negative views about Bitcoin’s mining activities are not necessarily supposed to be viewed as a bad thing, according to Sen Ted Cruz, who, speaking at the Texas Blockchain Summit this week, highlighted the ways in which the BTC mining narratives can change for the better. According to a transcript of the Senator’s speech as shared by top crypto voice, Nic Carter, Bitcoin can be used as a tool to solve some of the world’s most serious energy challenges.
Senator Ted Cruz’s Take
Using Texas as his reference point, the Senator pointed out that the state has a huge wind resource, ranking as number one in the country, with a huge reserve of natural gas, all of which presents an enormous opportunity for Bitcoin mining.
According to the Senator, a large percentage of the natural gas produced in the country is flared as waste. Of the natural gas flaring activity, over 50% is done in Texas, alone, and this excess energy can easily be trapped and channeled for use in Bitcoin mining operations. Senator Ted Cruz noted that there are many regions in the world with excess renewable energy, and with the right development of technologies that can capture these energies at scale for use in Bitcoin mining, there will be a tremendous shift in how the premier cryptocurrency is viewed now, and how it would be viewed then.
As a way to strengthen his advocacy for Bitcoin mining using renewable sources, or waste products of oil refining, Senator Ted Cruz also pointed at the ‘Demand Response’ model where Bitcoin miners can give energy back to the grid when most needed.
Sen. Cruz makes 3 key points
– Miners can mine off grid by mitigating waste nat gas (byproduct of oil extraction)
– Miners can participate in demand response and give energy back to grid when most needed
– Miners can take advantage of stranded renewables
— nic carter (@nic__carter) October 10, 2021
With Bitcoin featuring prominently in capturing the world’s excess renewable energy resources, it will directly join the fight in combating climate change, a wide deviation from how it is being perceived today. While most of the recommendations from the Senator are currently non-existing at the scale that will make a significant difference, he believes his proposition is likely going to be the trending innovation in the next 5 years.
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