New cryptocurrency Chia blamed for hard drive shortages
by Alex Hern UK technology editor from Technology | The Guardian on (#5J9PP)
Speculators buy up vital components as demand surges for rival to bitcoin that requires huge storage space
A new cryptocurrency is being blamed for shortages of hard drives and other storage systems, as speculatorsbuy up critical components in anticipation of a price rise.
Chia is the creation of Bram Cohen, the entrepreneur behind the BitTorrent file-sharing system. It aims to improve on more popular cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin and ethereum by removing the incentives to burn massive amounts of electricity.
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