内容摘要："I think he said, 'un-sellable'," shoots back Mullen Jr.

"I think he said, 'un-sellable'," shoots back Mullen Jr.

History tells us that without incentives or rules in place, bitcoin mining at scale can put strain on public energy grids. In Kazakhstan in 2020-2021 a mining boom increased energy usage in the country by 7% before the government clamped down and clipped the wings of the burgeoning industry.In the US - bitcoin mining's new mecca - conflicts between miners, locals and residents have been common when electricity is in high demand.

Authorities have created agreements with some mining giants to ensure that they power down their warehouses chock full of computers at times when the grid needs balancing.For example, Greenidge gas power plant in New York which was renovated to mine bitcoin was mandated to power down mining in January to supply electricity to the grid during a cold snap.Agreements like these will need to be widespread if President Donald Trump's ambition for bitcoin to be "mined, minted and made in the USA" is to be achieved.

The environmental impact of the industry is also a major concern. It's estimated that bitcoin mining uses as much energy as a small country like Poland.But according to researchers at Cambridge University which does annual estimates on bitcoin's energy usage, there is a shift taking place to a more sustainable energy mix.

Set ups like this Zengamina are a tiny part of the overall mining picture.

But they are also a rare example of a controversial industry creating much more than just digital coins.Mr Sirman believes that if you account for the efficiency and health issues of refrigerants, like leakages, Magnotherm products can compete on price. "We are not targeting customers who are only looking at initial cost."

He acknowledges that for now the company's beverage coolers are quite pricey. Their customers tend to be early adopters of new technologies.Another technology under development is thermoelectric cooling.

This involves moving heat between two sides of a device. With the application of electrical energy, heat is transferred in the direction of the current.A notable thermoelectric start-up is Phononic, which is based in the US and has an additional manufacturing facility in Thailand.