While still seeming strange and unofficial to many, cryptocurrencies have now become an established part of the world economy. These blockchain-based virtual currencies have become hugely popular for a wide variety of people around the world, from mom and pop investors to billionaires such as Elon Musk, who recently began accepting Bitcoin as payment for vehicles from his electric automaker Tesla. While the rise of cryptocurrencies fits well with the digitization of almost everything in our modern world, the virtual currencies have shown a dirty side through their rampant energy consumption that is beginning to become a real threat to climate change efforts. The largest cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, is estimated to consume 148 terawatt-hours of electricity alone, which is more energy than the entire consumption of significantly-sized countries like the Netherlands, Argentina, Poland, or Switzerland. In a recent interview with the New York Times, Bill Gates claimed that Bitcoin “uses more electricity per transaction than any […]