Just for clarity, most who have known things for a while don't go around repeating the fact. Usually as they assume others already know them.
Here are some facts, that I assume anyone who has looked into bitcoin will learn. Even honest detractors.
Bitcoin is decentralized. Huge numbers of specially designed equipment (Asic's that can only mine bitcoin) basically doing the same thing and using a lot of electricity to do so.
The owners of this equipment usually run it for profit. That is the fee that they receive for transactions or mining must exceed the price they pay for electricity to cause them to run the equipment.
Were they to use standard computer hardware capable of stuff like protean folding the electricity costs would exceed the fees that they make were they using it for bitcoin. That is unless the equipment and electricity is free or they receive some other incentive such as using the heat or payments to stabilize the electricity grid so that they can profit from what they do.
This structure is very robust, even a state banning such operations, where close to 50% of global transactions were recorded, didn't disrupt the system.
Bitcoin's blockchain protocol doesn't scale. That is to say that the number of transactions and frequency of those transactions can't cope were the world to switch to using bitcoin. It's not Visa and could never directly replace Visa. Then again Visa isn't £'s. The lightning network is a scaling solution for bitcoin, though no technical reason prevents Visa offering the same sort of service. At one point I understand that they were looking at doing so, but it seems they decided not to.
Bitcoin is trustless and peer to peer. That is to say that not only can no central "trusted" authority refuse a transaction but such a authority can't reverse a transaction either. The system presumes that you self-custody. If you do so then you can only have bitcoin directly stolen/seized through violence or the threat thereof. The BIP39 protocol means that you can even "keep your bitcoin in your head" as you swim naked across a boarder fleeing a country.
Bitcoin has no monetary policy unlike fiat, though changes to the protocol do gradually happen by consensus. Hence the Central African Republic is no longer subject to the EU's monetary policy and El-Salvador the US monetary policy. This is because their citizens can now use alternatives to currencies under the control of the Fed or EU central bank.
The reward for mining Bitcoin reduces on a fairly regular frequency and will eventually reach 0. At which point transaction fees will be the only source of funds for those who run the protocol.
Bitcoin is NOT some other crypto currency and other crypto currencies are not bitcoin. Hence my initial post on this thread.
https://lemonfool.co.uk/viewtopic.php?p=500096#p500096Other crypto distinguish themselves by changing or deciding to change some of the above facts. Some crypto is inflationary, ie mining fees to not reduce to zero. Others are not trustless. There are even more obscure differences that I can't be bothered researching. Just accept that for any crytpo to meaningfully exist it must be different from other existing crypto or fiat. If that were not true then why not simply use what it's identical to?
I do hope that detractors check these facts and there after not ignore them, or better yet as Johnb expects of bitcoiner's, mention them from time to time.
I also hope that it's understood that knowing these facts probably won't change anyone's opinion. Like I said, they are quickly found if you look into the subject.
If you object to the energy use, then you must object to other uses of energy, unless you regard them as providing some value and Bitcoin of providing no value.
If you support Bitcoin then you must regard it as having a value and hence the energy use is justified by that value.
Those differences of opinion on value are not changed by facts already known to both sides of the debate.
