The Guardian

How Iceland became the bitcoin miners’ paradise

The island nation is the first to use more electricity on mining cryptocurriencies than on its households – thanks in part to its magma-fuelled power plants
A geothermal power plant at Grindavík, Iceland. Photograph: Javier Larrea/Getty Images/age fotostock RM

Bitcoin’s price may be down more than 50% from its highs in December, but no one has told Iceland, where the cryptocurrency and its offspring are reshaping the economy.

, an employee of the energy company HS Orka, Icelandic

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