Bitcoin has been called virtual gold, in part because it is created in a process that insiders call mining. And like real mining, it can be dirty. Depending on how the electricity used for mining is generated, the virtual currency can have a very real impact by adding pollutants into the air and contributing to global warming. “I think in the case of bitcoin mining the capital will flow into more efficient hardware that will need less energy,” said Damblon. The push for scale to save on energy costs and go green also risks pushing bitcoin against its libertarian, or even anarchist, founding philosophy.

Source: New Strait Times December 24, 2017 03:22 UTC