---

VBit CEO: Elon Musk is wrong about bitcoin mining's long-term sustainability.

Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla (TSLA), recently spoke out about bitcoin (BTC-USD) and other cryptocurrency mining operations' energy use, challenging the long-term viability of present levels of power consumption and underlining the significance of switching to renewable energy sources.

Don Vo, CEO of VBit Technologies, told Yahoo Finance Live that Musk is incorrect about the issue.

“I believe Elon Musk is mistaken, or perhaps he's just making up a tale for his front and future ventures into the bitcoin mining space,” Vo added. “However, the truth is that most bitcoin mining data centres run on renewable energy. We use hydroelectric electricity, just like VBit's computer centres.”

Following China's declaration that it would step up attempts to crack down on bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies mining, which sent crypto markets soaring, some experts believe the cryptocurrency industry will profit significantly in the long run as corporations shift their mining operations outside. Every week, Vo said, his company receives numerous inquiries from Chinese mining companies interested in relocating hundreds of thousands of computers to VBit's North American data centres.

The report renewed debate regarding crypto mining's environmental viability, as speculation about Chinese mining companies' use of coal power resurfaced.

“Of course, there are some mines [located] in China that are still using coal power, but a lot of them are utilising hydro, a lot of them are using solar energy, which are all renewables,” Vo continued.

Because cryptocurrency is still a young sector, Vo believes it is widely misunderstood. Musk, as one of the world's wealthiest people, wields some power in the cryptocurrency industry, with a following of people who don't "truly comprehend the field," according to Vo. He believes that as the market matures and people conduct their own "due diligence," this will change.

Vo also argued that no country should control more than 51% of mining hash power since it would concentrate too much power in one spot and allow the government to "attack the network with a 51% attack." One of the key reasons for this being a serious possibility, he said, was China's totalitarian regime.

“What this crackdown demonstrates is bitcoin's tenacity,” Vo said. “Not even a superpower like China can bring the bitcoin network to a halt. They'd simply go to another country, giving other countries more chances to get a foothold.”

The University of Cambridge has published a Bitcoin Mining Map, prior to the crackdown, China accounted for more than half of all bitcoin mining. He predicts that Beijing's action will cost the country billions of dollars in income and thousands of jobs in infrastructure construction.

“I believe it is a huge mistake for China to divert all of this wealth away from their country,” Vo said. “And by forcing it away, it's also assisting bitcoin in achieving Satoshi's original objective of democracy and decentralisation, right?”