There is energy consumption required for Bitcoin mining. The importance of it is that Bitcoin is considered by many, in our group and others, as a form of sound money. It's considered potentially the soundest money the world has ever seen. Utilizing the energy to produce Bitcoin.... The blockchain there can also be used for multiple other uses, not just for mining cryptocurrency. People can also timestamp, confirm and validate transactions that are happening on chain.
Right now, 86% of Bitcoin is, I think, used on renewables. A lot of it uses hydroelectric—energy that wouldn't otherwise currently be used.
Bitcoin can be used to support load balancing. In Texas right now, they've grown a multi-billion dollar industry by allowing more miners to have access to the grid. These miners also participate in what is called “demand response”. Miners are willing cut off and reduce the amount of profit they make in order to be able to support the grid system. Miners also do innovative things whereby they'll bring in infrastructure. They'll build infrastructure and bring high-speed Internet into rural communities. They'll bring in jobs by also building out their mining facility plants.
They way we describe Bitcoin mining to governments is that it's kind of supporting building the infrastructure for the Internet. A lot of data centres utilize similar functions as you would use for Bitcoin mining. It is considered that the metaverse will be a multi-trillion dollar industry by 2030, and a lot of companies are looking to be able to utilize more electricity or want to have more electric vehicles coming out, so we're going to have to start developing out the infrastructure for that energy grid. Bitcoin mining will help not just by bringing in the infrastructure, but by bringing in the high-speed Internet. It will help to train the different jobs. It will help support the oil and gas industry by utilizing their hydrocarbons and building out more generators.
The heat that's given off by Bitcoin mining can also be used to support greenhouses. The waste heat from that can support being able to grow produce.
There are a lot of valuable uses for Bitcoin mining.