With the advent of any new technology comes ethical questions and cryptocurrencies are no exception.
Generally speaking, there’s no ethical issue with investing in something that’s likely going to have a positive return. At the same time, many of us don’t look beyond those gains to the other impacts our investing might have. But for myself, I think it’s important to look ahead not just to my own future, but also to society and the earth in general. So, that being said, I’m curious where the rest of you are on this and I’ve laid out a few questions I’d love to start discussions on.
1. Should Ethics Be Important When Choosing a Crypto Currency?
Now that cryptocurrencies are almost mainstream, many folks are making choices of which crypto currencies to invest in based on which they think will increase in value quickest. When this happens though, a lot of ethical considerations usually fall by the wayside. How important to you is ensuring that your investments don’t contribute to global warming or to social degradation?
2. Are there practical, definitive ways that we can (or should) use cryptocurrencies that can forward even just one of the following goals for a sustainable future?
(The list below was created by the United Nations http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-development-goals/ )
• No Poverty
• Zero Hunger
• Good Health and Well-being
• Quality Education
• Gender Equality
• Clean Water and Sanitation
• Affordable and Clean Energy
• Decent work and economic growth
• Industry, innovation, and infrastructure
• Reduce inequalities
• Sustainable cities and communities
• Responsible consumption and production
• Climate action
• Life below water
• Life on land
• Peace, justice, and strong institutions
• Partnerships for the goals
Which, if any, of these is important to you and why? How can cryptocurrency make a difference?
3. Is ecological sustainability important enough to you to migrate over to coins like burstcoin (https://www.burst-coin.org) or chiacoin (https://chia.network/) that use “farming” techniques rather than mining? Why or why not?
Standard mining techniques use an insane amount of energy the more a coin is valued. As a result, many miners are turning to cheap coal to power their activities, thereby contributing to ecological degradation and climate change. Is this a fact that makes an impact on you? Do you think that we as a community should turn to coins that are not as energy intensive (i.e. that use farming)?
I think crypto will be far more sustainable than fiat... If we account the carbon foot print of physical banks in every town and physical transport of money that goes to and from these banks not to mention the actual minting process....
As for Bitcoin yes its mining is rather wasteful however I believe crypto will eventually change into a tech driven market and not a media/special interest market...... That being said many other cryptos do it better than btc for the future carbon foot print of crypto is 1% of what fiats carbon fooot print is..
@obiwa I agree entirely. In fact, I have a hard time taking all this talk of Bitcoin mining and global warming as anything other than a half-assed attempt on the part of central bankers to keep people hitched up to their fiat currency gravy train!