Respectful Resistance
For bitcoin to win, we have to relentlessly yet respectfully resist through education
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed herein are the author’s alone and do not necessarily represent Talen Energy’s positions, strategies, or opinions.
Yesterday witnessed another US senator with presumably very little expertise on power systems or markets come out against “crypto” on the grounds of energy consumption and supposed consumer welfare.
This was in conjunction with Senator Elizabeth Warren releasing a letter to the EPA and the Department of Energy, imploring the heads of these two agencies to use all means at their disposal to “require reporting of energy use and emissions from cryptominers.” Judging by the content of this letter, it seems very likely that she and the 5 senators or members of congress that co-signed the letter also have no more than a cursory understanding of how energy is generated, transmitted, and distributed in our country. It is a tour de force of logical fallacies, hyperbole, and citation of bad data used to support spurious arguments.
The Twitter response has been predictable. Senator Durbin’s tweet above has been devastatingly ratio’d, with bitcoiners of all stripes responding in a variety of different ways. One general flavor we’re all familiar with is sarcastic and oftentimes hilarious contempt:
Another flavor, however, is the (more or less) genuine attempt to use Twitter as a platform to respond to these types of statements with data and logic in a (more or less) respectful manner:
(This, by the way, is an excellent thread on mining and energy)^
In response to what I will call the “kill’m with logic and data” approach, some in the bitcoin community are rolling their eyes, understandably saying that it’s foolish to even try to reason with people like this because they are arguing in bad faith, using “climate change” and “consumer protection” to condemn something they oppose for entirely different and more nefarious reasons. I empathize with this and agree that this is likely true in the case of Elizebeth Warren specifically.
But at the same time, smart people with domain knowledge and a platform to propagate it not doing anything - allowing the “sarcastic contempt” approach to dominate our political discourse - seems like Nietzsche-level nihilism.
I’d like to make the case that we do need to push back on every single release like this, and do so with the utmost respect, professionalism, and patience. We need to respond with clear and cogent arguments in whatever form we are most comfortable and capable with, and flood the zone with accurate data and intellectually honest arguments about why we have devoted our lives to integrating bitcoin into modern civilization. This is best exemplified by Nic Carter, who has spilled more ink than anyone on the planet refuting either uninformed or outright malicious takes on bitcoin. In so doing, he has created an oeuvre that has likely helped to orange pill more people on the beautiful nexus between energy and bitcoin than I will in a lifetime:
But the Nic Carters of the world can’t shoulder the responsibility of fighting the information war we’re in by themselves. Those of us that have the capacity, whether that is industry specific knowledge or just a passion for bitcoin and a propensity to write and engage, must continue to fight as well. Resistance Money, a bitcoin-focused research collective, is a great example of a group of individuals who are leveraging their expertise at academic communication for the cause. Troy Cross, a colleague of the folks behind Resistance Money and rising star in the bitcoin mining intelligentsia, can often be found in the comments of tweets like Senator Durbin’s attempting to correct the narrative with, for the most part, at least a modicum of respect.
Mickey Koss, a West Point classmate and currently serving military officer, is another example of someone doing their part with what they’ve got. An avid home miner for years now, he has recently taken to contributing to Bitcoin Magazine when he’s not doing his Army special operations day job. He’s pumped out 13 articles in less than 2 months, many of which make original and compelling arguments for bitcoin and its adoption.
Even Twitter anon’s are playing a part - the tweet thread below is one of the best I’ve ever seen cataloguing and extolling the virtues of bitcoin mining for our global energy system:
Like those mentioned above and countless others, we must be relentless in our efforts to continue educating even those who we suspect to be arguing from a place of complete intellectual dishonesty, because while we may believe bitcoin is inevitable, its path is not yet fully charted. We see the potential in bitcoin to truly change the world for the better in profound ways, but the vast majority of the public doesn’t yet. In our efforts to educate and push back on ill-informed or outright malignant attempts at regulatory overreach, we are pushing forward our narrative not just with the regulators or disingenuous pundits, but with the public in general. This is a war of education and attrition, and we need to take the high road and take it every single time if we are going to win.
People are free to do as they please, and of course will do just that. There is exactly zero risk that the “sarcastic contempt” approach will go away anytime soon, nor should it. We will continue to be able to chuckle at the roasts and ratios that happen on Twitter every time something like this is released.
But, in my opinion, we also need more people taking the approach of respectfully opposing and educating rather than attacking.
Regardless of whether we think it will convince the Warrens of the world, it’s important we push back on narratives like hers because we need to show Americans that we are a professional force to be reckoned with and that we have the data and logic to back up our claims. Data will not win hearts and minds, but it can provide the scaffolding for more emotive appeals to solidly rest on. This is why I applaud the public miners who are becoming ever-more transparent with the data that they share, and am actively encouraging them to share even more of that data, particularly as it relates to energy utilization and grid service provision.
Dismissing out of hand these very clear attacks will only embolden our attackers, and allow them to flood the zone with more skewed data, disingenuous arguments, and gaslighting about the “toxicity” and “extremism” of the bitcoin community. We need to put our suits and ties on and bring our data and meet them on their home turf. For me, though perhaps tempting, opting out of the system is not a workable or frankly a desirable option at this point. There may come a time when that is the case, but I’m not ready to give up on America just yet, so I’m going to do everything in my power to correct the narrative at every turn and show the world a better future with bitcoin. I hope you’ll join me.