Is cryptocurrency real money? How much energy does it take to transfer and store all that Bitcoin, Donald Trump meme coin, etc.? Does cryptocurrency add to the fossil-fueled Climate Crisis?

This is the fourth article in a series of Questions articles about American culture in 2025.

Answer to the first question: Mmmm, no, not really, but it works to buy illegal things on the dark web. Your local grocery store does not take cryptocurrency as payment. (You would have to buy a gift card. Or you could transfer your cryptocurrency via an app and hope your grocery store will let you buy food.)

From my AI:

• Bitcoin (BTC) is a cryptocurren…