So what's the problem, you may ask? Bitcoin's virtual, so it's not like it's made from paper or plastic, or even metal. The digital currency is created when high-powered computers compete against other machines to solve complex mathematical puzzles, an energy-intensive process that currently often relies on fossil fuels, particularly coal, the dirtiest of them all.
LONDON: Tesla boss Elon Musk (pic) is a poster child of low-carbon technology. Yet the electric carmaker's backing of bitcoin this week could turbo-charge global use of a currency that's estimated to cause more pollution than a small country every year.
Tesla Inc revealed on Monday it had bought $1.5 billion of bitcoin and would soon accept it as payment for cars, sending the price of the cryptocurrency though the roof.
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