Elon Musk and Jack Dorsey discuss Bitcoin’s environmental issues and its future

The trio of cryptocurrency superstars were interviewed by Square Crypto chief Steve Lee on a number of topics related to Bitcoin, including its impact on the environment.

Wednesday’s B Word conference, hosted by the Crypto Council for Innovation, featured a panel that, while small, had several powerful voices present. Ark Invest CEO and CIO Cathie Wood, Tesla Motors CEO and SpaceX Chief Engineer Elon Musk, and Square and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey each sat down to share their views on a number of topics regarding Bitcoin. Topics ranged from what inspired each member’s interest in bitcoin, the possibility that bitcoin could become P2P money, environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG), and even the idea of ‘a personal heater that could mine bitcoin while keeping you warm.

One topic that kept coming up was the problems that mining and the use of bitcoin have on the environment. The group spoke about their views on the cause and how the industry could move towards a greener future.

Elon Musk takes a look at Tesla’s relationship with bitcoin

Bitcoin and energy were brought up during the panel, with Lee asking Musk directly about his decision to stop accepting bitcoin as a form of payment for Tesla until the renewable energy contained in bitcoin reaches 50% in the world. Musk responded by saying that Tesla herself may have had a negative influence on the increase in energy use due to the price hike during her initial announcement regarding BTC payments. “From the moment Tesla announced that it had acquired bitcoin and was transacting bitcoin, there was a massive increase in the price of bitcoin and also a massive increase in the amount of energy used to mine bitcoin. . ” He also said he noticed that energy use fell when prices fell after Tesla halted bitcoin payments.

Musk added that he was “plugged in” and understood renewable energy a little bit, and that he is convinced that there is “no way to double or triple the amount of energy in so little time. time with renewable energies “. He goes on to say that “you don’t expect power generation to be clean like snow, but it cannot use the dirtiest coal in the world. What it was, for a while there. So, until technology catches up with the growth of bitcoin mining, Tesla will continue to wait for payments using crypto. It is “very likely that Tesla will resume BTC payments,” Musk concluded. The Tesla CEO added that neither Tesla, SpaceX nor himself sells bitcoin and that “I could pump, but I don’t throw.”

Cathie Wood on ESG and bitcoin

Lee then focused on Wood and asked him what environment, social and governance (ESG) is and how bitcoin can support it. Referring to the environmental aspect of ESG, Wood states that “there is a massive movement underway, in the institutional world in particular, to embrace ESG and ensure that their asset managers do. likewise. Wood also shares his belief that bitcoin will become much more environmentally friendly, “certainly, than traditional gold mining or the traditional financial services industry. In many ways it already is. And it is. will just get better that way.

Wood believes the social part of ESG goes way beyond what many in the ESG community consider it to be. She believes that bitcoin helps citizens become economically empowered. Whether it is sending money internationally with less hassle or exorbitant fees to help people under authoritarian regimes or in a situation of hyperinflation in their country. “Saving them from the destruction of their purchasing power is certainly a noble social goal,” she said. On the government side, she praises the transparency of the ecosystem as opposed to “the opacity of financial systems and tolls in the traditional financial world”.

Jack Dorsey Focuses on Social Areas of ESG

Dorsey didn’t speak as directly about environmental issues as her co-panelists, but took a different approach to how bitcoin can make the world a better place. The CEO of Twitter even went so far as to say that “my hope is that this creates world peace or helps to create world peace”. Dorsey added that “the amount of costs and distractions that flow from our monetary system today are real and distract from bigger issues.”

One of the main issues with this is something Wood touched on as well. The hassle and expense of transferring money between two countries. Wood used the example of families living apart sending money to loved ones in need and having to pay unreasonable fees. With bitcoin, says Dorsey, this situation would be different. “I think the idea is to have solid money separate from the state,” Dorsey said. “Having it completely verifiable by everyone, including the state, including businesses, including individuals, including developers, who want to rely on it is pretty powerful. “

Square recently launched a “Bitcoin Clean Energy Investment Initiative”, to help the industry move towards a less destructive future. In the initiative’s press release, Dorsey said, “We believe cryptocurrency will ultimately be powered entirely by clean energy, eliminating its carbon footprint and driving the adoption of renewable energy globally. “.

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