Photo: Giant bitcoin mines like this one in Kazakhstan dominate the crypto mining 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.
