@article{1450666,
      recid = {1450666},
      author = {Read, Colin,},
      title = {The Bitcoin dilemma : weighing the economic and  environmental costs and benefits /},
      pages = {1 online resource :},
      abstract = {There are few innovations that have the potential to  revolutionize commerce and have evolved so quickly that  there remain significant misunderstandings about their  operation, opportunity, and challenges as has Bitcoin in  the dozen years since its invention. The potential for  banking, transacting, and public recording of important  records is profound, but can be displacing if not done with  appropriate care, and is downright dangerous if certain  pitfalls are not noted and avoided. Among other things,  this book proves the existence of a Bitcoin dilemma that  challenges the conventional wisdom which mistakenly asserts  the incredibly intensive energy consumption in  Proof-of-Work cryptocurrency mining will be remedied by  more efficient mining machines or sustainable power  sources. It shows for the first time within a  well-specified economic model of Bitcoin mining that the  recent runup in electricity consumption has a simple and  inevitable explanation. For a coin with almost completely  inelastic supply and steadily increasing demand, the  conditions for accelerating electricity demand is  consistent with economic theory and may well characterize  the future of Bitcoin. The book also demonstrates the  counterintuitive result that improvements in mining  efficiency, in terms of electricity consumption per  terahash of processing power, or decreases in electricity  costs as cheaper sustainable energy is diverted to this  industry, merely exacerbates the acceleration of energy  consumption because of a prisoners dilemma  arms-race-to-the-bottom. The book proposes policy solutions  to mitigate this Bitcoin dilemma but note that the mobility  of industry capacity which needs but a ready supply of  electricity and an Internet connection frustrates local  regulation and warrants global solutions. The incredible  opportunities of this industry will only be realized if our  regulators, legislators, entrepreneurs, and general public  garner a more complete and objective understanding of this  and other Proof-of-Work mining techniques. The book  provides this broader perspective based on the authors  research as an economist, his position as a director of a  large regional bank, his understanding as a technologist  and as an environmental and sustainability researcher, and  his public policy experience as a mayor who has also  written books and articles about public policy and public  finance. Colin L. Read teaches Money and Banking and  Sustainability at SUNY Plattsburgh. He has written a dozen  books on finance and economics, and also served as Mayor of  the City of Plattsburgh when his Northern New York  community was inundated with Bitcoin miners. His unique  story is just the beginning. .},
      url = {http://library.usi.edu/record/1450666},
      doi = {https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-09138-4},
}