The lure of new Bitcoins encourages people to use lots of fast computers, and lots of electricity, to find the right answer and unlock the new Bitcoins that are distributed every 10 minutes or so. The goal was to distribute new coins to people on the Bitcoin network without a central institution handing out the money. This explains why there are now enormous server farms around the world dedicated to mining Bitcoin. This process is central to Bitcoin’s existence because in the process of mining, all the computers are also serving as accountants for the Bitcoin network. “Labeling Bitcoin mining as a ‘waste’ is a failure to look at the big picture,” Marc Bevand, a miner and analyst, wrote on his blog.

Source: New York Times January 21, 2018 22:22 UTC