"Many are growing more critical of bitcoin mining - a process that uses vast amounts of energy from fossil fuels. So just how dirty is the virtual currency, and can it clean up its act?"
"Bitcoin eats so much energy - first to create the cryptocurrency then to process all transactions - that it can strain electrical grids, earning a reputation as the world's dirtiest money.
As the currency's price and profile has increased - now attracting interest from mainstream financial institutions - some environmentalists have called for restrictions, citing the risk of such a swift jump in energy usage to our climate.
But the exact environmental impact is hard to measure.
It is difficult to know how much of the energy used in the network is renewable, and the location and scale of Bitcoin mining is changing all the time.
Bitcoin enthusiasts, for their part, believe a decentralised digital currency is worth the energy cost - which they say is relatively low, compared to other key sectors of the economy."
Avi Asher-Schapiro reports for Thomson Reuters Foundation June 17, 2021.
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