The Hard Math Behind Bitcoin's Global Warming Problem
Let me freak you out for a second. You know what bitcoin is, right? I mean, no, but quickly, it\u2019s a \u201ccryptocurrency\u201d that\u2019s basically secret computer money. One bitcoin, which doesn\u2019t actually have a real, physical form, is worth at this moment upwards of $16,000. But to get one, you either have to buy them from online exchanges or use specialized computing hardware to \u201cmine\u201d it. That last bit is where the freak-out comes in.