Experts refute IMF’s damning ‘attack piece’ on crypto mining

In a post on X on August 16, ESG crypto lawyer and researcher Daniel Batten published a rebuttal to an August 15 IMF report on Bitcoin mining emissions.

He argued that the IMF report uses flawed rhetorical techniques such as “guilt by association” in linking Bitcoin mining to AI data center energy consumption.

The report titled “AI and crypto carbon emissions are rising and fiscal policy can help” lumped crypto and artificial intelligence together, labeling them threats to the “power-hungry” environment .

Another piece of attack on the central bank

Batten said that the pieces of attack are usually from those who stand to lose from the adoption of Bitcoin, namely central banks.

“With the scientific consensus and mainstream journalism concluding that Bitcoin mining has significant environmental benefits, those who stand to lose the most from widespread Bitcoin adoption (IMF, central banks) must resort to direct attacks.”

Rebuttal to New IMF Report on Bitcoin Mining Emissions

The IMF report says that “carbon emissions from AI and Cryto are increasing” and then moves on to a detailed report on how regulators should tax “cryptocarbon”.

Rebuttal:

First, Bitcion advocates everywhere should pause to… pic.twitter.com/GClHEi0FvR

— Daniel Batten (@DSBatten) August 15, 2024

He claimed that unlike AI data centers, Bitcoin mining has been shown to have a positive impact on power grids.

Research has shown that flexible data centers, such as Bitcoin mining operations, have a net decarbonizing impact on networks, while inflexible data centers, such as AI, have a net decarbonizing impact.

He noted that the IMF’s own data sources revealed that by 2027, crypto’s share of global electricity use and its share of global CO2 emissions will have declined. However, both will have increased for the AI ​​industry.

The IMF also relies heavily on discredited or discredited authors such as Alex de Vries and information dated 2022 from Cambridge University.

Batten concluded that any IMF report “should be disregarded as a low standard of research” and unusable by policymakers and regulators.

“This is very informative. Thanks for writing,” replied US Senator Cynthia Lummis.

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IMF Deputy Head of Fiscal Affairs Shafik Hebous and Climate Policy Division Economist Nate Vernon-Lin wrote that a kilowatt-hour tax “would push the cryptomining industry to reduce its emissions in accordance with the global objectives”.

They claimed that a higher tax would increase the average price of electricity for crypto miners by 85%. This would also increase annual world government revenue by $5.2 billion and reduce emissions by 100 million tons annually, they stated.

The IMF is fully in favor of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs); however, he reported last year on increased interest in them and the development of his own platform.

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