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Bitcoin: Paying with the cryptocurrency

February 20, 2017

Bitcoin has long had a poor reputation. On the dark net it has been used to buy drugs and arms. But its reputation is improving and it is being used for legitimate transactions as well.

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Bitcoins are created as a reward in a competition when a computer solves a certain kind of puzzle. The process is called 'mining', and it has created a virtual gold rush. Marco Streng is a mathematician and businessman from Munich who runs a mining farm in Iceland. He won't disclose any numbers, but he is evidently making money. Just the electricity needed to operate all the hardware costs a million euros a month. Bitcoin is traded like a standard currency nowadays and the exchange rate fluctuates -- sometimes wildly.