[LINK] Bitcoin and global warming

[David Lochrin]

On 17/12/2017 09:39, Bernard Robertson-Dunn wrote:
> The Hard Math Behind Bitcoin's Global Warming Problem
> https://www.wired.com/story/bitcoin-global-warming/

Does any Linker understand where the cryptographic "puzzle" fits in Bitcoin architecture?  Is it just an arbitrary task providing no added-value, like digging holes then filling them up again?  Or is it solely to regulate the rate of bitcoin creation?

SHA-256 mentioned in the article is a hashing algorithm, not an encryption algorithm.

I was part-way through Bernard's linked article when the power went out; maybe too many people mining bitcoins?

David L.