Launched in the wake of the 2008 global financial crisis, Bitcoin (BTC) is one of the most innovative currencies.
Advocates argue cryptography makes it secure and its limited supply makes it a valuable asset in comparison to fiat currencies like the U.S. dollar that the government can print anytime it likes.
Bitcoin mining is the process of using specialized computing hardware to solve complex cryptographic functions to verify and add blocks containing BTC transactions to the chain.
As a reward, miners earn newly minted Bitcoin plus transaction fees.
The cryptocurrency relies on the proof-of-work (PoW) consensus mechanism that requires miners to perform computational work (solving cryptographic functions) to prove they did the work honestly.
Related: What is Bitcoin mining? Explained
Elon Musk calls Bitcoin energy-based currency
Even Elon Musk once said in a podcast that he expects money as a concept to disappear once advanced automation can meet human needs at scale.
In this future, energy could become the most fundamental form of economic power, he added.
“Energy is the true currency,”Musk said. “You can’t legislate energy."
The Bitcoin network links value to real-world energy expenditure and miners must consume electricity and computation to secure the system, he added.
“This is why I say Bitcoin is based on energy,”Musk remarked.
Trending on TheStreet Roundtable:
Economist warns Bitcoin will go to zero due to energy-intensive design
But economist Steve Keen warns Bitcoin's energy-intensive model makes it vulnerable in a world moving toward sustainable energy consumption.
Speaking on the Diary of a CEO podcast released Apr. 6, Keen argued that Bitcoin is going to zero because of its core design.
He said Bitcoiners claim the network's public ledger is safe because it takes too much energy to break Bitcoin, and therefore, it is too expensive to break Bitcoin.
“That means it’s got a huge requirement for energy use,”he added.
But climate change could force policymakers to limit energy-intensive activities, and cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin wouldn't be able to escape the crackdown, Keen warned. This is why he said he didn't buy Bitcoin.
However, Bitcoin advocates say mining is now increasingly powered by renewable energy and isn't as energy-intensive as critics claim.
At press time, Bitcoin was trading at $71,416.48.
Related: Explained: What is sustainable Bitcoin mining?
This story was originally published by TheStreet on Apr 9, 2026, where it first appeared in the MARKETS section. Add TheStreet as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
