One group of investors and supporters have stepped up to the plate to defend the world’s largest digital asset with the help of a crowdfunded, FUD-fighting documentary film, as the headlines pile up about Bitcoin’s calamitous environmental impact
The goal of the film is to act as a “definitive” argument for why Bitcoin will transition the world to renewable energy faster than governments, according to investor, podcast host, and Bitcoin fanatic Brad Mills on Twitter
A documentary series about BitTorrent and one of the earliest examples of a crowdfunded, free-to-share effort, Mills’ choice of director is Jamie King, best known for STEAL THIS FILM. King said that the narrative about Bitcoin’s energy consumption pushed him into action, according to interview with Cointelegraph.
“The idea for this new project, which we’re raising funds for right now, came about as a result of the increasing amount of attention being paid to Bitcoin‘s energy usage,” King said. “Obviously this came to a head with Elon’s announcement about not accepting BTC for his cars for the time being — but it’s also a piece of ‘FUD’ we’re seeing repeated with greater and greater intensity.”
Earlier in the week, billionaire Elon Musk Tweeted that his company Tesla would no longer accept Bitcoin for payments — a comment that set off accusations of hypocrisy, but whose contents were echoed loudly in the mainstream media.
Despite Elon’s gripes, specifics about how much “dirty” energy Bitcoin consumes is difficult to calculate, however, and even estimates based off of Chinese consumption may only paint a rough picture.
Regardless, King and crew aren’t trying to argue that Bitcoin is clean, green tech.
“I think it’s important to acknowledge Bitcoin uses energy. A lot of it. That’s part of its design,” says King. “The question we need to ask is: is it worth it.”
King said that those who instinctively answer “no” to that question likely haven’t done their research, and that “in a broader social, political and economic context” the case for Bitcoin’s energy consumption is self-evident.