Above: A Bitcoin mining farm in an undisclosed location (source: Marko Ahtisaari, 2014)
By Rebecca Endres
Greenifying a Gray Area
Cryptocurrency, blockchain, and NFTs have exploded into the daily lexicon with a serious case of Jekyll and Hyde Syndrome. Blockchains offer an alternative to opaque financial institutions by creating a form of currency that is decentralized and strives to empower individuals through the erosion of traditional power structures. The problem is it takes a hell of a lot of energy to power them. Can naysayers handle a new technology that has, until recently, sourced its energy from low-cost, high-carbon options when climate change has already reared its destructive head? But what if instead of standing in the way of a…