Michael Saylor Defends BTC Mining Amid Criticisms of Energy Consumption

MicroStrategy founder Michael Saylor argued against a recent article discussing electricity consumed during Bitcoin mining. According to Taylor, millions of American families benefit from reduced energy bills thanks to Bitcoin miners who operate without creating pollution.

#Bitcoin miners decrease the energy bill for millions of American families and do not create pollution. They are data centers running on excess electricity that would otherwise be wasted, and perform the vital role of powering the most secure computer network in the world.

— Michael Saylor⚡️ (@saylor) April 18, 2023

Moreover, the founder believes these miners are essentially data centers that run on excess electricity that would have otherwise gone to waste. In performing this critical function, they power the most secure computer network in the world.

Saylor’s tweet was a reply to US Senator Elizabeth Warren’s reshare of a New York Times article. The Massachusetts representative had said:

Bitcoin mines are increasing energy bills for millions of American families while enriching crypto executives — and causing as much pollution as an additional 3.5 million gas-powered cars.

The document claimed that inside the shell of a former aluminum smelting plant located an hour away from Austin, rows of computers were operating at a scale equivalent to powering approximately 6,500 homes to acquire Bitcoin.

Moreover, the New York Times has identified 34 large-scale Bitcoin mining operations in the United States that put immense pressure on the power grid and create costs such as elevated electricity bills and substantial carbon pollution.

The article also shared that these operations use an enormous amount of electricity, with one company, Bitdeer, being paid an average of $175,000 per hour to keep their computers offline in Texas during a power grid emergency.

Saylor has always been a big supporter of Bitcoin. In his recent tweet, the 58-year-old billionaire shared that he has incorporated Bitcoin’s Lightning Network into his company email address. Meanwhile, Senator Elizabeth Warren has been at the forefront of several anti-bitcoin and crypto bills introduced over the past year.

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