Squidfayce
Eats Squid
Environmentalist credentials of the author aside, participating specifically in this market doesn't have to involve a wanton disregard for the environment or energy crisis. Many large scale miners are actually moving or have moved to green energy to offset their increasing energy costs.
Bitcoin Miners Want to Recast Themselves as Eco-Friendly (Published 2022)
Facing intense criticism, the crypto mining industry is trying to change the view that its energy-guzzling computers are harmful to the climate.
www.nytimes.com
I participated without adding to the environmental impact at all. Before you tell me that by me or anyone else participating in it at any level i/we are contributing, I'd ask you to think about all the things you participate in that actually add to your carbon foot print directly. Car, food, heating, cooling, travel, having kids (the single largest shit thing you can do for the environment BTW) etc. I jumped on my phone and pressed a few buttons. I doubt anymore than a few joules of energy was expended doing so, less than writing this reply anyway.
As a whole i somewhat understand that some amount of energy is being expended on this that wasn't before, and without it there would be an overall less impact "somewhat", but in the grand scheme of things if it wasn't this, it would be something else. IMO there's no point decrying something like this in a capitalist society - it falls on deaf ears. Might as well make some money to spend on our carbon footprint while were going to hell.