Professor Steve Keen, an economist who predicted the 2008 financial crisis, has stated that Bitcoin is headed towards zero because of unsustainable mining infrastructure that is causing a climate catastrophe. He gave these comments in a recent podcast appearance with the well-known British investor and host Steven Bartlett.
While Bitcoin did come up near the end of the 90-minute informative session, the focus was not on the crypto economy but the ongoing Middle East crisis that has threatened the current economic order. The academic warned that food prices around the world are going to shoot drastically because of the constraints in the Strait of Hormuz, and people are going to pay for it dearly.
Who is Professor Steve Keen?
Dr. Keen received the Revere Prize in 2010 for accurately predicting the 2008 financial crisis, which resulted in one of the largest banking crises the world has ever seen. He started issuing warnings about the economic squeeze as early as December 2005, pointing out the level of private debt relative to the USA’s GDP.
He was of the opinion that private debt created demand in the system and once it started to cool off, an economic crisis was in the making, and that is exactly what happened within a couple of years. Now, he is issuing multiple warnings about instability driven by high global debt levels and looming food shortages caused by climate change.
Keen’s Issues with Bitcoin
In the latest episode of The Diary of a CEO podcast, Keen explained that he understood the mechanics of BTC a long time ago, when it was “went for a pound (GBP) per coin”. However, he had a fundamental disagreement with the system because of the massive energy expenditure required for its security, which was unsustainable.
 
When host Bartlett pressed the renewable energy argument, Keen’s rebuttal was that the world is likely to remain dependent on dirtier forms of energy for decades to come due to a lack of minerals and other raw materials required to build renewable energy infrastructure like wind and solar. The best bet, he argues, is to limit energy consumption, and the crypto economy is likely to face the axe in the near future because of that, as well as air travel. He cited engineer Simon Machau, who argued that such a paradigm shift wasn’t possible because of these limitations.
The Future of Bitcoin and Clean Energy
Bitcoin already relies heavily on renewable energy, especially hydroelectricity, to meet its huge energy requirements. Critics like Professor Keen are right about the need to minimize the world’s energy footprint, but there are other sectors that don’t provide much value yet are allowed to grow nonstop, such as military hardware and textiles.
There are still other sectors like AI and banking that are extremely energy-intensive, comparable to BTC, and yet they get a free pass. For many around the world, especially in developing countries, crypto offers a refuge from crippling inflation and a form of monetary freedom that the current system cannot provide. The energy debate around mining will continue, but the unique use case of crypto cannot be understated.
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