While much has been written about bitcoin, many people still find it a hard topic to comprehend, even as promoters like U.S. President Donald Trump rave about it being a revolutionary digital currency that will rapidly replace hard currency. However, unlike money, there’s currently no bank or government to back up, insure and regulate bitcoin, or protect small holders. It’s an unregulated tool for speculators, not savers, according to critics. Bitcoin today dominates the world of cryptocurrencies: digital “money” based on cryptography, a form of complex mathematics using secret codes that require decryption to achieve worth. Ultimately, bitcoin’s value comes down to something akin to fantasy or faith, it merely being a series of ones and zeros anonymously laced across the internet and “mined” by those few with the financial clout and tech capacity to do so. As such, bitcoin flourishes in a speculative crypto marketplace, posing high risk of boom or bust. But, unlike Holland’s wildly speculative 17th century tulipmania market bubble, (which upon collapse at least left investors with a garden full of pretty flowers), a bitcoin bust leaves the holder with naught but ones and zeros. Bitcoin does, however, possess an enduring real-world footprint: The greater the perceived value bitcoin achieves, the more environmentally destructive its mining becomes, as it demands ever escalating amounts of energy (with accompanying carbon emissions) to crack the increasingly complex crypto code. Donald Trump originally spoke out against cryptocurrencies, but during his 2024 presidential campaign he wholeheartedly embraced bitcoin, and he continues…This article was originally published on Mongabay