Can you trust Erica, or Sandi or Amy to increasingly control parts of your financial life without giving you inaccurate information or sending money to the wrong place

FÉNYESLITKE, Hungary--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jun 16, 2023--

Bitcoin mining requires as much water annually as all of the baths in Britain, according to a new analysis of the cryptocurrency’s environmental impact. Financial economist Alex de Vries, who runs the Bitcoin Energy Consumption Index, estimated that roughly 1.6 trillion litres of water each year is required to cool the computers used to support the cryptocurrency’s network. Separate research from 2018 found that 1.6 trillion litres is how much bath water the British public sends down the plughole every year – enough to fill roughly 660,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools. The latest analysis, which was published in the journal Cell Reports Sustainability on Wednesday, suggested that a single bitcoin transaction could use as much water as a backyard swimming pool. “Many parts of the world are experiencing droughts, and fresh water is becoming an increasingly scarce resource,” said Mr de Vries. “If we continue to use this valuable resource for making useless computations, I think that reality is really painful.” The “useless computations” refer to the complex calculations required to mint new units of the cryptocurrency and verify transactions on the network. The use of water to cool the necessary hardware could be significantly reduced if miners shifted their operations underwater, with companies like Microsoft already placing some of their data centres in the ocean in order to cool them. Earlier this month, China announced that it had begun building the world’s largest underwater data centre in order to reduce electricity and water costs. Bitcoin has previously been criticised for its electricity consumption, with Mr de Vries’s Energy Consumption Index estimating that the cryptocurrency’s network uses roughly as much electricity as the country of Poland. Bitcoin advocates have refuted accusations relating to bitcoin’s electricity consumption, claiming that miners are increasingly turning to renewable energy sources as the costs of wind and solar drop. A recently published study suggests bitcoin mining could actually help speed up the transition to renewable energy, as solar and wind energy installations could earn hundreds of millions of dollars mining bitcoin during periods of excess electricity generation. ”These rewards can act as an incentive for miners to adopt clean energy sources, which can lead to combined positive effects on climate change mitigation, improved renewable power capacity, and additional profits during pre-commercial operation of wind and solar farms,” said Apoorv Lal, a doctoral student at Cornell University who was involved in the research. Read More Bitcoin mining could supercharge transition to renewables, study claims Bitcoin mining rate hits all-time high amid record-breaking prediction for 2024 Elon Musk scam ads appear on X as key advertisers depart Scientists find planets moving around in strange ‘rhythm’ Astronomers find unprecedented ‘disc’ around distant planet Scientists have cooked ‘alien haze’ that could help find life

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s government approved a supplementary 2023 budget that includes the suspension of rules limiting net

Xbox users not using official accessories will face an error code.

New leaks claim an Apex Legends Revenant Prestige skin is coming to the Mythic Store, available for 150 Heirloom Shards, sometime in Season 18.

Tesla's supercomputer, Dojo, to train AI models for autonomous cars could give the electric vehicle maker an "asymmetric

The Cabinet has approved Ireland’s participation in a European Defence Agency (EDA) project to improve cyber-threat response and information exchange with other member countries. Tanaiste and Minister for Defence Micheal Martin secured Government approval for the project which aims to facilitate information exchange and improve the response to cyber threats to EU member states’ defence structures. The duration of the Military Computer Emergency Response Team Operational Network (Micnet) project is four years with the possibility of an extension. The EDA said this network of national cyber-threat response teams will enhance the level of cooperation in the cyber domain at EU level, at a time when computer networks are increasingly contested and the number of cyber-attacks against the EU continues to grow. It said cyberattacks have increased exponentially in the past few years, having serious political, financial, and economic consequences across Europe and beyond. The objective is to develop a robust and coordinated response to cyber threats affecting defence systems in the EU, including those used in military common security and defence policy missions and operations. Mr Martin also secured approval for three other European Defence Agency projects relating to the procurement of Defence Forces equipment. This includes ammunition, soldier equipment and Chemical Biological Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) items like hazmat suits. The projects are an opportunity to secure defensive equipment and ammunition after the Russian invasion in Ukraine impacted supply for smaller nations like Ireland. The overall EDA ammunition procurement project includes fast-tracked supply for Ukraine but Ireland will not be participating in this aspect as it has “constructively abstained” from the supply of lethal equipment. Ireland may still supply non-lethal soldier equipment and CBRN items to Ukraine. Ireland has participated in the European Defence Agency, which was set up to support the EU’s defence capabilities, since it was established in 2004. Ireland’s participation in these EDA projects will now be subject to Dail approval. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Trust and ethics considerations ‘have come too late’ on AI technology Mitigating ‘extinction’ from AI should be ‘global priority’, experts say Teenager given criminal behaviour order apologises after TikTok ‘prank’

TL;DR: As of June 21, you can get a three-year UltraVPN subscription for just $29.99

Tristan Tate calls for boycott of the Revolut app again

Microsoft Corp.’s $69 billion takeover bid for games developer Activision Blizzard Inc. came back from the brink after

Here's all the new and vaulted weapons in today's Fortnite OG Season 6 update, including the addition of the Heavy Assault Rifle and Grapple Gloves.