From one perspective, all this electricity consumption makes sense. Erik Voorhees, founder of the coin exchange ShapeShift, said critics were unfair in calling the energy spent on bitcoin mining a waste. “The electricity is being burned for a purpose. There is a real service being provided, the securing of these payments.” He urged critics to compare it with the energy burned by the current financial system. Think of the big vaults, the bunkerlike architecture with majestic Grecian facades, HVAC systems pushing frigid air into bright lobbies, competing branches on every corner, and ATMs in
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