I realize that this article is not going to be popular with everyone. Bitcoin is a kind of tech financial fantasy, whereby many tech fans have come to the conclusion that we can live in some kind of financial utopia divorced from inflation and economic woes if we follow this fake mining path. There are probably many CleanTechnica readers who are big bitcoin or who at least have significant bitcoin holdings.

Unfortunately, bitcoin is a really stupid idea that is massively energy intensive and could become the nail in our climate coffin. Naturally, it’s not one thing that is going to destroy a livable climate for humans (unless you want to say “burning fossil fuels,” which is by far the biggest factor). However, bitcoin — or cryptocurrency mining more generally — is a notable problem, and it basically just captures the essence of our broader problem as humans.