Climate Changed
Coal Is Fueling Bitcoin’s Meteoric Rise
- Computers creating cryptocurrencies using up more electricity
- China dominates bitcoin making and is world’s top coal burner
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Bitcoin has a dirty secret.
The cryptocurrency has wowed markets this year with breakneck gains as investors flocked to an asset that exists only in cyberspace. But the laborious creation of each digital bitcoin by private computer networks has real-world consequences in the form of massive energy use -- including from fuels that cause the most pollution.