It takes a lot of computing power to “mine” a bitcoin or other digital currency coin. The giant mining operations of Asia stack thousands of computers in dimly lit factory buildings powered by cheap electricity from coal-fed generating plants. Bitmain’s mining operation in the northern Chinese city of Ordos uses $39,000 of electricity a day.
But with the price of bitcoin skyrocketing (at least on a monthly basis) and other currencies following suit, it’s probably no surprise that some less legitimate folk have sought to profit from the boom. And they’ve latched onto some software that started out with a clever idea.