A computer screen displays a cryptocurrency mining web page at the home of Dmitry Gutov, a Russian cryptocurrency 'miner,' in Krasnogorsk, Russia, on Thursday, Sept. 7, 2017. Gutov, who works in a Moscow-based staff-outsourcing firm by day, is among a growing number of Russians who have embraced mining as the price of cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin and ether has soared. Photographer: Andrey Rudakov/Bloomberg
If you thought Internet ads were annoying, consider this: The websites you visit could now be harnessing your computer to do cryptocurrency mining.
Digital currencies demand a lot of computing power. To complete each block of transactions, computer owners around the world must race to solve an extremely difficult cryptographic puzzle, with the winner getting paid in the relevant cryptocurrency. To increase their chances, such “miners” invest vast amounts in processing capacity – building server farms in far-flung places where electricity is cheap – and are always on the lookout for inexpensive ways to get more.
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