That makes sense. CPUs and GPUs convert most of their energy use into heat. May as well do something slightly useful with that.
No idea what the numbers are now, but last winter, I think my 3080Ti cost ~$2/day to run and generated ~$1/day in crypto.
I ran a very small mining operation at home back in the day and it definitely was all about trying to optimize everything.
Today, I don't think mining is economically viable without running a data center, but I still mine in the winter and turn my computer into a space heater for my home office. It definitely doesn't cover the power cost but it does offset a small portion of it.
Not affiliated in any way but Nicehash is what I use now since it (mostly) runs out of the box with minimal configuration.
As a side note, don't mine on laptops - you won't get enough heat to keep a room warm and you might end up with something failing from overheating.
As a counterpoint: From the perspective of the Bitcoin network, Bitcoin is not inherently deflationary as long as mining continues to introduce new coins. Mining rewards do drop over time, but new Bitcoin will continue to be generated until the year ~2140.
I think the view of Bitcoin being deflationary now is based on its increasing/volatile value against other currencies which does encourage people to hold with the expectation that they can sell for more in the future. I'd argue that this is price discovery and not deflation. If it remains where it is now, then I agree that it will just be another casino. If the value stabilizes eventually, then it does offer some benefits, especially in countries where the local currency is a less reliable way to hold money.
Disclosure: I do hold some crypto and obviously would prefer it to go up but it won't change my life. I just think it's an interesting experiment at the end of the day.
I don't disagree with you that cats kill lots of animals but a million over its lifetime is way too high. If you assume a 20 year lifespan, that's 50k/yr or a bit under 140 per day, every single day. The wikipedia article cites one study that claims ~90 animals killed per year, which seems much more reasonable.
former cat parent and future indoor only cat owner