HashrateUp 047 Bitcoin Mining & Climate Change w/ Jeff Booth & Harald Rauter
Aug 8, 2025
Jeff Booth, author of 'The Price of Tomorrow', and Harald Rauter, a venture capitalist focused on decarbonization, dive into the intersection of Bitcoin, climate change, and monetary systems. They argue that fiat incentivizes climate crisis and how inflation drives environmental issues. Booth discusses Bitcoin mining as a means to enable energy abundance, while Rauter shares insights from his climate finance transition. Their passionate dialogue emphasizes Bitcoin's potential to reshape economies and promote sustainability, particularly in developing nations.
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Deflation Is The Natural Market State
- Jeff Booth argues that the free market is naturally deflationary because prices fall toward marginal cost as technology increases productivity.
- He claims manipulated, inflationary money reverses this and causes systemic misallocation and environmental harm.
Inflation Drives Environmental Harm
- Booth connects inflation directly to climate damage by saying money creation forces unnecessary growth and resource waste.
- He argues a money system that mismeasures value drives perverse incentives and environmental destruction.
Bitcoin Arrived At The Right Time
- Technology accelerates deflationary pressure, and Bitcoin emerges as a monetary layer matching that shift.
- That timing makes Bitcoin a natural complement to rapid technological productivity gains.
