Speakers at the Bitcoin Amsterdam 2024 conference have highlighted the far-reaching consequences of misinformation in academic research on Bitcoin.
During the “Beyond Resistance Money” panel discussion on day two of the conference, speakers said that academic inaccuracies have misled and continue to mislead the media, contributing to misguided government policies and harmful regulations.
The Bitcoin (BTC) advocates detailed how flawed studies on BTC emissions and mining practices have driven erroneous narratives in journalism and policymaking.
Beyond Resistance Money panel discussion. Source: Bitcoin Amsterdam 2024
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Flawed academia, public misperception
One important issue discussed was the role of flawed academic research in spreading misinformation about Bitcoin.
Andrew Bailey, a professor at Yale-NUS College and senior fellow at the Bitcoin Policy Institute, highlighted a specific issue in an influential academic paper that inaccurately reported BTC emissions data. He said:
“The problem, I’m afraid, is academics. And the wrong or even damaging things they say about Bitcoin […] Academics have been wrong about Bitcoin, but nobody reads this stuff. Right? Right?”
Bailey pointed out that the paper contains a “unit error in the chart” that has not been corrected, even though it continues to be cited as factual. He emphasized that such mistakes can have a lasting impact on public understanding of Bitcoin.
Related: BTC miners are ideal energy consumers, but regulators need to catch up — Hive
Journalism as a loudspeaker for misinformation
Bradley Rettler, associate professor of philosophy at the University of Wyoming, added that journalists often lack the time to verify or deeply understand academic sources, further spreading these inaccuracies.
According to Rettler, the reliance on academic papers by journalists, who may not have the resources to become subject-matter experts, contributes to the problem:
“So the journalists read these academic papers, and they translate them into everyday parlance and the…..
