Bitcoin—Libertarian dream or environmental hazard?

Abstract

Bitcoin is the latest fantasy object of utopian thinkers far and wide. Angry with the banks? It sidesteps them. Fed up with governments? They can’t regulate it. Annoyed by corporations? Bitcoin transcends them. Worried about fraud? Bitcoin uses the latest cryptography. Keen to make a buck (so to speak) by participating in a boom? Come on down and plug in.