Cameron Winklevoss, co-founder of the Gemini crypto alternate, floated an unconventional thought for sustainable Bitcoin BTC/USD mining on Monday, which is to route electrical energy from piezoelectric flooring tiles into the community.
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Cameron Winklevoss Thinks Footsteps Might Energy Bitcoin Mining
“This power needs to be transformed into Bitcoin mining. Each step helps audit and safe the blockchain. And finally one step will win the block reward,” he wrote on X.
He argued that turning footsteps into hashes would, in principle, assist validate transactions and safe the community. The Bitcoin protocol pays miners a block reward for efficiently including new blocks to the chain below its proof-of-work system.
Can Piezoelectric Flooring Virtually Energy Bitcoin Mining Efforts?
Winklevoss shared a video highlighting piezoelectric sidewalks in Tokyo that seize tiny quantities of energy from foot visitors. Pilot tasks courting again to Japan’s Shibuya Station in 2008 present the output per step is small, on the order of a fraction of a watt per stride and finest suited to low-power shows or lighting. Business suppliers likewise say a single step yields only some joules, “sufficient to energy a 5W bulb for one second.”
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That scale prompted pushback in Winklevoss’s replies. Some customers famous such flooring typically produce too little electrical energy to do greater than complement native lighting. Others argued “the power used to provide and preserve this flooring cannot even pay for itself,” urging, “ditch the waste and simply mine Bitcoin straight.”
In response to a 2016 report by Wired, energy-harvesting distributors and early case research reinforce the skepticism, describing the tech as academic or symbolic moderately than grid-scale.
The Wider Debate Over Bitcoin Mining Vitality Effectivity
Winklevoss has beforehand claimed Bitcoin mining can speed up clear energy, and as per Bloomberg information, Gemini has purchased carbon credit to offset its footprint.
Trade efforts he is praised or that miners cite embrace pairing rigs with extra photo voltaic, wind and hydro power; tapping stranded pure fuel that will in any other case be flared and exploring nuclear-backed energy or grid-balancing roles. Current examples vary from Blockstream and Block Inc.’s XYZ solar-battery mining pilot in 2022 to Marathon Digital Holdings Inc.’s MARA more moderen use of shale fuel, in keeping with Reuters.
Trump Megadonor
The Winklevoss twins have emerged as main monetary backers of Trump and Republican teams throughout the 2024–2025 cycle. In January 2025, Cameron Winklevoss gave almost $500,000 to Trump’s MAGA Inc. PAC, whereas his brother Tyler contributed greater than $515,000. Each brothers additionally chipped in $132,900 apiece to the Republican Nationwide Committee.
Value Motion: On the time of writing, BTC was exchanging arms at $115,503.50, down 1.70% within the final 24 hours, in keeping with information from Benzinga Professional.
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