The frenzy over Bitcoin brought the world’s total value of the digital currency to $877 billion last week, and major financial institutions have taken notice, said Robin Wigglesworth and Eva Szalay at the Financial Times. The decentralized currency, ‘mined’ through “an energy-intensive network of computers,” has gained wildly diverse adherents, from hedge funds to banks to the actress Lindsay Lohan. Tesla spent $1.5 billion of its cash reserves on Bitcoin and said it would soon start accepting it as payment for its vehicles. That inspired a flurry of digital currency–related announcements from other companies, including MasterCard.
