Governments and legacy financial systems all over the world are discovering that it’s not easy being green. And Bitcoin is no exception. Elon Musk famously reversed his decision to accept Bitcoin as payment for Tesla in May, citing environmental concerns as the reason. But many in the Bitcoin SV world are confident that it can and will be eco-friendly.

Zach Resnick, Managing Partner of venture capital fund Unbounded Capital is one of many unconcerned BSVers. “We would argue that Bitcoin is perhaps one of the most eco-friendly technologies ever created,” he says. 

 Zach argues that Bitcoin’s design incentivises miners to find cheap energy to maximise their profits. As renewables are cheaper, they are encouraged to find or create clean, renewable sources of energy. 

 He also points out that because Bitcoin miners can be located anywhere, they can make use of renewable energy in places that conventional energy customers couldn’t otherwise use. 

 “You can start up a mining operation with one hundred per cent renewable energy anywhere, really far from any grid and still be able to utilise all the energy efficiently.” 

 This means that poorer countries can use natural resources, like hydropower, to mine Bitcoin and make money. This was a central argument in Stone Ridge’s annual shareholder letter, which outlines the economic benefits Bitcoin will bring to the world.  

 On this week’s episode of CoinGeek Conversations, Zach stresses that he thinks we should measure Bitcoin’s energy consumption against the value it brings to the world.