In Coinbase’s rise, a reminder: Cryptocurrencies use lots of energy
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Last Updated: Apr 15, 2021, 08:58 AM IST
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Coinbase is a startup that facilitates the buying and selling of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin.
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By Hiroko Tabuchi
The stock market debut of Coinbase, a startup that facilitates the buying and selling of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, is a watershed moment for digital money.
It also threatens to lock in a technology with an astonishing environmental footprint.
Cryptocurrencies use blockchain technology, which relies on specialized computers racing to solve complex equations, making quintillions of attempts a second to verify transactions. It’s that practice, called “cryptomining,” that makes the currencies so energy-intensive.
April 13, 2021
2 weeks ago I did not know what an NFT (Non Fungible Token) was.
Not sure I do today, but they’re yet another problem inflicted on us by people who have more money than sense.
After a string of high-profile sales in February and March, the red-hot market for non-fungible tokens (NFTs) is already showing signs of cooling but whether this is a bursting bubble or merely a course correction remains to be seen.
On March 11, digital artist Mike “Beeple” Winkelmann shattered all expectations with the $69 million sale of his work
Everydays The First 5000 Days. Suddenly, he was the third-most-expensive living artist, ranked behind only Jeff Koons and David Hockney.
NFTs Have a Climate Problem
Making the digital artworks requires colossal amounts of computing power, and that means greenhouse gases.
April 14, 2021, 1:23 p.m. ET
Join us on April 22 for the latest installment of our virtual event series,
Netting Zero
. Moderated by Rebecca Blumenstein, a deputy editor of The Times, we’ll be exploring the role of
technology at the intersection of climate and health
.
By Hiroko Tabuchi
You’ve probably noticed a lot of buzz over the past few weeks about nonfungible tokens, or NFTs, the digital artworks that are stamped with unique codes. Last month, one of them sold for more than $69 million at a Christie’s online auction.
NFTs are shaking up the art world They may be warming the planet, too nzherald.co.nz - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from nzherald.co.nz Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.