The Tesla CEO announced the electric vehicle company would no longer be accepting bitcoin

特斯拉CEO宣佈電動汽車公司將不再接受比特幣

for purchases due to its environmental impact.

因其對環境的影響而被採購。

People have long been warning about the insane amount of energy that's required to mine Bitcoin.

長期以來，人們一直在警告開採比特幣所需要的瘋狂的能量。

So why does bitcoin use so much energy?

那麼，為什麼比特幣會使用如此多的能源？

And do other cryptocurrencies have the same problem?

而其他加密貨幣也有同樣的問題嗎？

Most of the money we use today has been issued by a central bank.

我們今天使用的大多數貨幣都是由中央銀行發行的。

You're familiar with them; the U.S. Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank

你對它們很熟悉；美國聯邦儲備局、歐洲中央銀行

or the Bank of Japan, for example.

或日本銀行，例如。

What made bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies revolutionary was cutting these institutions

使得比特幣和其他加密貨幣具有革命性的原因是削減了這些機構

out of the picture and using a decentralized ledger, known as blockchain, instead.

出，而使用被稱為區塊鏈的去中心化的賬本。

To learn more, I called in one of CNBC's resident crypto experts, Ryan Browne.

為了瞭解更多資訊，我叫來了CNBC的常駐加密貨幣專家之一Ryan Browne。

Hi, Ryan.

嗨，瑞安。

Hi, Nessa.

嗨，妮莎。

People around CNBC were saying that you were one of the main guys to go to when we're

CNBC周圍的人都說，你是我們要去找的主要人員之一。

talking about cryptocurrencies.

談論加密貨幣。

Having been covering this space for I think four years now, it's definitely been

報道這個領域已經有四年時間了，這絕對是個好機會。

a learning experience.

一個學習經驗。

What was one of the early big hurdles for this kind of digital currency?

這種數字貨幣的早期大障礙之一是什麼？

One of the big problems with cryptocurrency was the question around double spending.

加密貨幣的一個大問題是圍繞雙重消費的問題。

And this is essentially the idea that a coin virtually could be used more than once.

而這本質上是一種想法，即一枚硬幣實際上可以被多次使用。

And that would essentially be theft and if that were to happen, confidence would be completely

而這基本上是盜竊，如果發生這種情況，信心就會完全喪失。

lost in the Bitcoin network.

在比特幣網絡中丟失。

So how did they solve this issue?

那麼，他們是如何解決這個問題的呢？

Well, this is where bitcoin-mining comes in.

嗯，這就是比特幣開採的作用。

Now, every computer in the network has a full list of bitcoin transactions to make sure

現在，網絡中的每臺電腦都有一份完整的比特幣交易清單，以確保

that they're valid.

他們是有效的。

If one single participant in the network doesn't have the same list, everything falls apart.

如果網絡中的一個參與者沒有同樣的名單，一切都會崩潰。

This is how they prevent theft from happening.

這就是他們防止盜竊發生的方法。

So if Person A is sending Bitcoin to Person B, that transaction needs to be verified by miners.

是以，如果A君向B君發送比特幣，該交易需要經過礦工的驗證。

Once verified, each part of the blockchain needs to be updated with that transaction.

一旦得到驗證，區塊鏈的每個部分都需要用該交易進行更新。

Miners are then rewarded in some bitcoin.

然後，礦工會得到一些比特幣的獎勵。

Okay, I know that's a lot, but stick with me.

好吧，我知道這是一個很大的問題，但請堅持下去。

Mining was this ingenious solution to a big problem, but it also has problems of its own.

採礦是這個大問題的巧妙解決方案，但它也有自己的問題。

The whole point of cryptocurrency mining, and what makes it so secure is this proof

加密貨幣挖礦的全部意義，以及使其如此安全的原因是這個證明

of work mechanism that underpins everything.

的工作機制，支撐著一切。

Miners effectively have to solve these very complex math puzzles that are generated every

礦工實際上必須解決這些非常複雜的數學謎題，這些謎題每隔一段時間就會產生。

10 minutes.

10分鐘。

The point of this is to make sure that the blockchain is cryptographically secured, so

這樣做的目的是確保區塊鏈的加密安全，所以

that we don't have any of those security issues that we've mentioned.

我們沒有任何我們提到的那些安全問題。

Now the result of that, you then have more computers being logged on to the network essentially.

這樣做的結果是，你有更多的計算機被登錄到網絡上，基本上是這樣。

Right, and this process takes up a lot of energy.

對，而這個過程佔用了大量的能量。

That's correct.

這是正確的。

And as the price goes up, more and more miners will want to reap the rewards.

而隨著價格的上漲，越來越多的礦工將希望獲得回報。

Because it can be potentially very lucrative, right?

因為這有可能是非常有利可圖的，對嗎？

We've seen the price of Bitcoin rise wildly this year.

我們看到比特幣的價格在今年瘋狂上漲。

Sometimes, they will combine into these mining pools which pool together computing resources

有時，他們會組合成這些礦池，將計算資源集中起來。

to effectively improve their chances of cracking that puzzle, so you're just going to get

以有效提高他們破解該謎題的機會，所以你只是要得到

more and more energy being consumed all over the world.

世界各地正在消耗越來越多的能源。

Large-scale electricity consumption is measured in terawatt-hour, which is equal to one trillion watts.

大規模的電力消耗是以太瓦時為組織、部門，相當於一萬億瓦特。

A report by Cambridge University says that the bitcoin network alone consumes more than

劍橋大學的一份報告稱，僅比特幣網絡的消耗就超過了

116 TWh per year, about 0.5% of total electricity in the world.

每年116太瓦時，約佔世界總電量的0.5%。

Bitcoin's annual electricity consumption is higher than countries like the Netherlands,

比特幣的年耗電量比荷蘭等國家還要高。

Philippines and Singapore.

菲律賓和新加坡。

In fact, if bitcoin were a country, it'd be number 33 on the list of top energy consumers.

事實上，如果比特幣是一個國家，它將會是能源消耗大戶名單上的第33位。

So how is that possible?

那麼，這怎麼可能呢？

There is a direct correlation people have been noticing between the rising price of Bitcoin,

人們已經注意到比特幣價格上漲之間有一種直接的關聯。

and the level of network difficulty and competitiveness of all these miners trying

以及所有這些礦工嘗試的網絡難度和競爭力水準

to participate in the network over time, and so it gets higher and higher.

隨著時間的推移，參與網絡的人越來越多，所以它越來越高。

And is this just a bitcoin problem? What about other crypto?

而這僅僅是一個比特幣的問題嗎？ 其他加密貨幣呢？

It's definitely not just a Bitcoin problem.

這絕對不只是一個比特幣的問題。

Those other cryptocurrencies, some of them are using the same protocol that Bitcoin uses,

那些其他的加密貨幣，其中一些正在使用比特幣使用的相同協議。

which requires you to use all of this computing power to figure out those puzzles.

這需要你利用所有這些計算能力來解決這些難題。

So where is this mining taking place?

那麼，這種開採是在哪裡進行的？

The U.S., Russia, Kazakhstan and Malaysia are all big players, but the vast majority,

美國、俄羅斯、哈薩克斯坦和馬來西亞都是大玩家，但絕大部分。

some 65%, is happening in China..

約65%，發生在中國。

A lot of miners will migrate to southwestern provinces in China, which are rich in hydropower.

很多礦工將遷移到中國的西南省份，那裡有豐富的水電資源。

Which obviously, is a renewable source of energy.

顯然，這是一種可再生的能源。

Now on the flip side, if the cheapest source of energy is fossil fuels, that is where

現在反過來說，如果最便宜的能源來源是化石燃料，那就是

Bitcoin mining gets a little dirtier.

比特幣挖礦變得更髒了一些。

In Iran, when it comes to bitcoin mining, one of the big concerns there was, it started

在伊朗，當涉及到比特幣挖礦時，那裡的一個大問題是，它開始了

leading to blackouts, power outages, in parts of the cities.

導致部分城市停電、斷電。

And that really speaks to just the amount of energy that is required to mine cryptocurrency.

而這確實說明了開採加密貨幣所需的能源量。

China, United States, they all have carbon neutral targets.

中國、美國，他們都有碳中和的目標。

But they're countries with noteworthy mining facilities or at least, mining habits, right.

但他們是有值得注意的採礦設施的國家，或者至少是有采礦習慣的國家，對吧。

So how are these governments responding?

那麼，這些政府是如何應對的呢？

We have already seen signs of increased regulation from the U.S. on cryptocurrencies at the moment.

目前，我們已經看到美國對加密貨幣加強監管的跡象。

In China, the Inner Mongolia region has effectively cracked down on mining by shutting down

在中國，內蒙古地區有效地打擊了採礦業，關閉了

Bitcoin mining completely.

比特幣開採完全。

Cryptocurrency advocates, however, argue all this energy use is worth it, if it means crypto

然而，加密貨幣的倡導者認為，所有這些能源的使用是值得的，如果這意味著加密貨幣

can democratize the world's financial system.

可以使世界的金融體系民主化。

Crypto advocates also say they are making efforts to use renewable energy, and that

加密貨幣倡導者還表示，他們正在努力使用可再生能源，並表示

it's not just them consuming energy.

這不僅僅是他們在消耗能量。

Online banking platforms and data centers use a lot of energy too.

網上銀行平臺和數據中心也使用大量的能源。

Global data center electricity demand was about 200 TWh in 2019, which makes up 0.8%

2019年全球數據中心的電力需求約為200太瓦時，佔0.8%。

of global electricity demand.

的全球電力需求。

We need to look at the entire Internet and how it is powered, and at the moment

我們需要審視整個互聯網和它的供電方式，而目前

it is, by and large, quite dirty.

總的來說，它是相當骯髒的。

The effort going forward will be making sure that the Internet is powered by renewables,

今後的努力將是確保互聯網由可再生能源驅動。

and you've got massive tech companies, mind you, like Amazon, Microsoft and others, they

你有大規模的科技公司，注意，像亞馬遜、微軟和其他公司，他們

are trying to do exactly this.

正試圖這樣做。

The only counterpoint that critics of Bitcoin will have is how much is Bitcoin used, as

責備比特幣的人唯一的反駁是比特幣的使用量有多大，因為

opposed to all of these online platforms and services that we use every single day.

與所有這些我們每天都在使用的在線平臺和服務相對應。

The general consensus is it's fractionally much lower.

普遍的共識是，它在分數上要低得多。

Now, an interesting thing about Ethereum is that it's trying to become a bit more energy

現在，關於以太坊的一個有趣的事情是，它正試圖變得更有能量

efficient, so it's actually in the process of upgrading its network.

高效，所以它實際上正在升級其網絡。

I'm finding it hard to understand how is that possible, if they're using the same

我發現很難理解這怎麼可能，如果他們使用相同的

technology, using the same blockchain technology?

技術，使用相同的區塊鏈技術？

I don't blame you at all, Nessa, this topic, it is almost intentionally difficult to understand.

我一點也不怪你，妮莎，這個話題，幾乎是故意讓人難以理解。

What the Ethereum network is essentially proposing is that it upgrades itself to a new protocol.

以太坊網絡本質上提出的是，它將自己升級到一個新的協議。

And this is very significant because it will move Ethereum into a new mechanism which essentially

而這是非常重要的，因為它將使以太坊進入一個新的機制，基本上是

validates transactions, and the validators of those transactions, they don't have to

驗證交易，而這些交易的驗證者，他們不需要

do all those complex competing puzzles that we've been discussing.

做我們一直在討論的所有那些複雜的競爭性難題。

I had to ask Ryan: Is there any cryptocurrency available out there that's actually worth

我不得不問瑞安：是否有任何可用的加密貨幣實際上值得

it to mine, or at least able to break even?

它的開採，或至少能夠實現收支平衡？

If you're a believer in crypto, you certainly think it's worth the massive computational

如果你是加密貨幣的信徒，你肯定認為它值得大量的計算。

effort to mine cryptocurrencies, because believers in cryptocurrency will say well, it is a decentralised

挖掘加密貨幣的努力，因為加密貨幣的信徒會說，好吧，它是一個去中心化的

currency, it's outside of government control.

貨幣，它是在政府控制之外的。

I mean, the remarkable thing about cryptocurrency is that it has survived so long, through all

我的意思是，加密貨幣的非凡之處在於，它已經生存了這麼久，通過所有的

the hacks and scandals and questions about money laundering and illegal activities.

黑客和醜聞以及關於洗錢和非法活動的問題。

They're still seeing lots and lots of money flowing into them.

他們仍然看到很多很多的錢流入他們。

And right now, it's a trillion-dollar market at least.

而現在，這至少是一個萬億美元的市場。

And that certainly says something about the potential staying power of these cryptocurrencies.

而這當然說明了這些加密貨幣的潛在持久力。

Now, whether all of them will exist in their current form in several years' time,

現在，是否所有這些都會在幾年後以目前的形式存在。

that's obviously up for debate.

這顯然還有待商榷。

I have a joke. Do you want to hear the joke?

我有一個笑話。你想聽這個笑話嗎？

Absolutely.

絕對的。

How many crypto-miners does it take to change a light bulb?

換一個燈泡需要多少個加密貨幣礦工？

How many?

有多少人？

A million.

一百萬。

1 to do it, and the rest to determine who gets the credit.

1人去做，其餘的人決定誰能得到功勞。

That's good.

這很好。

I'm gonna use that one.

我要用這一招。