特斯拉接受比特幣，分析：4 大因素使其他企業難效仿

特斯拉接受比特幣，分析：4 大因素使其他企業難效仿

上週電動車大廠特斯拉（Tesla）執行長馬斯克（Elon Musk）宣布，開放使用比特幣購車，初期僅限美國地區，希望在年底前將適用範圍擴大至全球。外電報導指出，此舉為比特幣創造更多應用機會，但其他企業馬上跟進的機率不高，並列舉多項原因說明。

Business Insider 報導，2 月 8 日，特斯拉宣布購買價值 15 億美元比特幣，帶動比特幣價格飆漲，於 2 月 16 日一舉衝破 50,000 美元大關。3 月 24 日，馬斯克進一步宣布，美國官網正式開放以比特幣買車的選項，讓比特幣更受大眾關注。

但加密貨幣專家指出，其他企業不太可能效仿特斯拉接受比特幣，主要有 4 大因素。首先，比特幣的價格波動過於劇烈，對企業而言不切實際且成本高昂，使比特幣成為不良的交易媒介，而大多數公司財務較保守，因此不會很快跟隨這項趨勢。

另外，比特幣交易時，必須向礦工支付手續費，無論交易金額大小，都是收取固定一筆費用，目前單筆手續費平均約 20 美元。第三項因素是，美國國家稅務局（IRS）將比特幣視為資產，而不是貨幣，企業須以買進時幣價需認列資產，若持有期間價格下跌，就得認列虧損，不利財報表現。

最後，目前全球對數位錢包的監管仍屬灰色地帶，僅少數幾間銀行願意經營加密貨幣存放款業務，也影響商家使用比特幣交易的意願。

根據 Semrush 的網站流量統計數據，與加密貨幣相關的關鍵字，例如「投資比特幣」（invest in bitcoin）和「如何交易加密貨幣」（how to trade crypto），光是今年 1 月以來，搜尋量暴增高達 1,015% 以上，反映特斯拉是改變加密貨幣市場的重要因素。

（本文由 MoneyDJ新聞 授權轉載；首圖來源：pixabay）

延伸閱讀：

比特幣「環境殺手論」劇增！中本聰早想到：「不用 BTC，才是純粹的浪費」

對一些人來說，比特幣預示嶄新的未來金融體系；但也有很多人視為環境災害。比特幣愛好者或許會對抨擊方不屑一顧，可若要讓比特幣大規模普及，勢必得逐一排除反對者的質疑。

比特幣今年迎來睽違已久的牛市，眾人對其增加的「碳足跡」也倍感擔憂。一度對比特幣立場轉為中立的微軟聯合創辦人比爾蓋茲（Bill Gates），2 月受訪時就又表示不支持比特幣，主因便在挖礦產生大量碳足跡。

理論來說，比特幣是完全數位化的類貨幣，乍聽之下似乎是有史以來最環保的貨幣。畢竟與紙幣不同，比特幣不需靠砍伐樹木生成，且供應量有限，不會有增發情況發生。

但是，主流媒體對比特幣是否消耗巨大能源的擔憂卻與日俱增。

《衛報》2 月便以《為何比特幣對地球有害》為標題做影片報導；路透社則抨擊特斯拉（Tesla）一方面提倡潔淨能源，另一手又向「能源密集」的比特幣投入 15 億美元；《華盛頓郵報》也指出，以比特幣購買特斯拉車對環境有負面影響。

比特幣可能永遠要消耗大量能源

無論以哪種指標比較，比特幣都確實消耗大量電力。原因就在比特幣採用名為 PoW 的共識機制，讓礦工以競爭方式解決密碼學問題，凡搶得首位，即能領取該區塊的獎勵。

為了保持競爭力，礦工硬體設備也被迫加入軍備競賽；使用更強大的計算機，消耗的能源自然也會增加。加拿大比特幣挖礦公司 Bitfarms 高層就承認，只要依然使用比特幣，就可能永遠要耗費大量能源。

BBC 報導，劍橋大學最近分析報告結果指出，比特幣一年消耗的能源總量，比阿根廷、荷蘭等國家還多，約每年 121.36 太瓦時（TWh）。假如把比特幣視為一國，耗電量將躋身世界前 30 大。

不過進入網路時代後，無論寄電子郵件、使用社群媒體、銀行網路業務，都在增加人類碳排放。在這環境下，比特幣難道真是碳排放的主要貢獻者？認為惡化環境的責任都在它是否誇大？

中本聰早想到了

外界對比特幣的批評，也讓一則比特幣創造者中本聰（Satoshi Nakamoto）2010 年在比特幣論壇 BitcoinTalk 發表的言論被翻出來。之後中本聰便從人們視野消失，至今仍沒有人知道「他」，或「他們」的真實身分。

中本聰寫道：

比特幣讓交易成為可能，效益要遠高於電力成本。因此，沒有比特幣才是純粹的浪費。

比特幣誕生以前，數位貨幣的概念早已出現，也曾付諸實踐，但從沒取得如比特幣的巨大成功。中本聰認為，比特幣「必須」涉及可證明的能源消耗，否則沒有其他方法能以去中心化方式，向全世界公平分配數位單元價值。

中本聰以黃金為例解釋：

（比特幣挖礦）與黃金和開採金礦的情況相同。挖出黃金的邊境成本往往會趨近黃金價格。開採金礦也是資源浪費，但這浪費的後果遠遠低於將黃金當作交換媒介的效益。

和比特幣類似，開採金礦也是能源密集型產業，並有大量資本支出。此外，採礦業是完全自由的市場，礦工往往被剝削，使真正從事辛苦工作的人賺到的反而是最低的薪水。

除此之外，中本聰也已預見未來將有無數開發者在比特幣區塊鏈上建立 Layer2 第二層解決方案，不傷害比特幣交易透明度的前提下，提升能源使用效率和交易速度等。Liquid、Lightning Network 等 Layer2 研究也行之有年。

此外，礦工能源消耗採可再生能源的比例也持續上升。根據劍橋大學替代金融中心（CCAF）去年 9 月發表的《全球加密貨幣指標研究》，高達 76% 礦工使用的電力包含可再生能源，甚至有 39% 礦工「只」使用可再生能源。

不過，可預見的未來，對比特幣造成環境危害的指控想必仍會持續出現。

（本文由 動區動趨 授權轉載；首圖來源：Unsplash）

延伸閱讀：

Bitcoin knocking on door of $60,000 again on news from PayPal, Visa and Dapper Labs

Greater adoption of crypto assets by payments companies recently may be helping to support a surge in bitcoin prices toward an all-time high.

At last check, the world’s most popular crypto was changing hands at around $58,868 on CoinDesk, up by about 2%. So far this year, bitoin BTCUSD, +0.01% has risen over a 100% and has gained over 27% in March. By comparison, the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, -0.31% is up 7% and the S&P 500 SPX, -0.32% has gained 4% in the month to date.

“Bitcoin has had a stellar year and things only look like getting better for the world’s largest cryptocurrency following these latest corporate announcements,” wrote Samuel Indyk, senior analyst at Investing.com, in a Tuesday note via email.

“In fact, it would not come as a surprise to see Bitcoin reach $100,000 by the end of the year as cryptocurrencies garner further corporate interest and attention from institutional and retail investors,” the analyst added.

PayPal

The rise of the blockchain-powered asset on Tuesday comes as PayPal Holdings Inc. PYPL, +0.37% said it would start letting its U.S. customers purchase items with crypto, a move that is regarded as the latest embrace of digital assets by a traditional payments player.

In reality, the move is part of gradual but steady integration of crypto in PayPal’s payment infrastructure and had been widely expected after the company, back in October, allowed PayPal users the ability to buy bitcoin, ethereum ETHUSD, Bitcoin Cash BCHUSD and Litecoin LTCUSD through its platform.

Visa adopts USD Coin

PayPal’s deepening moves in the virtual asset world come as Visa Inc. V, -1.22% recently announced a pilot program allowing crypto platforms to settle transactions made with their issued Visa cards in USD Coin without converting funds to fiat currency, marking the first major payments network to use the so-called stablecoin.

Back in January, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency Cryptocurrency said in an interpretive letter that U.S. financial institutions are allowed to use stablecoins for payment activities, and can participate as nodes in a blockchain.

Stablecoins—digital currencies that are pegged to an asset like gold GC00, -0.01% , the U.S. dollar DXY, +0.35% or the euro EURUSD, , usually in equal proportion—are viewed as a bridge between highly volatile assets like bitcoin and ether tokens and traditional assets.

Bitcoin futures

Separately, the CME Group CME, -1.93% announced the rollout of micro bitcoin futures. The CME, which began offering bitcoin futures back in 2017, said the micro futures are sized at one-tenth of one bitcoin and will be available on May 3.

Bitcoin futures are mostly used by institutions to hedge their positions and some investors said the introduction of the smaller version of bitcoin contracts was likely to help with liquidity in the broader futures and underlying spot market for the digital asset.

Read: A bitcoin revolution is underway and MarketWatch is gathering a cast of crypto experts to explain what it all means. Sign up!

“The recent appreciation in Bitcoin that has vaulted the price to $60k has made the CME Bitcoin Futures contract difficult to trade, from a notional perspective, because it is a five coin contract,” wrote Steven McClurg, chief investment officer at Valkyrie Investments. That is one whole contract in bitcoin would be about $290,000 defined by the CME’s CF Bitcoin Reference Rate.

“Micro contracts will allow more active traders to trade, hedge, and speculate by decreasing the notional value to 1/10 the size of the current offering,” McClurg said.

Increased speculation isn’t, of course, inherently a good thing, but CME offering the product underscores the growing interest in bitcoin among institutional-grade investors.

Dapper

Meanwhile, privately held Canadian blockchain technology company Dapper Labs Inc., the startup behind virtual trading-card platform NBA Top Shot, said Tuesday it raised $305 million from investors including the NBA legends Michael Jordan and Kevin Durant and other athletes and celebrities such as Stefon Diggs, Ashton Kutcher, Shawn Mendes and Will Smith. The deal, led by Coatue Management LLC, values the company at $2.6 billion, according to people familiar with the matter.

The sums reflect the exploding interest in nonfungible tokens, or NFTs, which use the blockchain technology behind cryptocurrencies to authenticate unique digital assets such as art, music or video of basketball highlights.

Read: ‘Obviously, we had no idea it was going to get here,’ say the guys who made the first NFT

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