Arvin Chinsalkar is an astrologer from Palahalli village in Mandya district, Karnataka. The lime-washed walls of the 26-year-old’s tiled home have turned black from the smoke rising from the homa kund in the middle of the hall. When people come to him seeking solutions— mainly, ways to improve their finances—he gives them cryptic yantras.
Unlike the walls of the hall, Arvin’s room is painted in accordance with the vaastu shastra. The room, where he meditates daily, is quiet except for the whirring of countless minifans from a strange contraption sitting under the painting of a raging bull. The mini fans also emit colourful lights and radiate heat. The machine runs 24x7, and improves Arvin’s finances. It is a cryptocurrency mining rig.
The mining rig solves complex mathematical problems. Every problem it solves approves cryptocurrency transactions on a global network. This is part of a public book-keeping process; the ledger is called blockchain. Miners are individuals who dedicate a computer to the process. As reward for keeping the public ledger alive, they get a transaction fee and a minuscule part of new cryptocurrency.
Esta historia es de la edición June 26, 2022 de THE WEEK India.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición June 26, 2022 de THE WEEK India.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
What Will It Take To Clean Up Delhi Air?
IT IS ASKED, year after year, why Delhi’s air remains unbreathable despite several interventions to reduce pollution.
Trump and the crisis of liberalism
Although Donald Trump's election to a non-consecutive second term to the US presidency is not unprecedented—Grover Cleveland had done it in 1893—it is nevertheless a watershed moment.
Men eye the woman's purse
A couple of months ago, I chanced upon a young 20-something man at my gym walking out with a women’s sling bag.
When trees hold hands
A filmmaker explores the human-nature connect through the living root bridges
Ms Gee & Gen Z
The vibrant Anuja Chauhan and her daughter Nayantara on the generational gap in romance writing
Vikram Seth-a suitable man
Our golden boy of literature was the star attraction at the recent Shillong Literary Festival in mysterious Meghalaya.
Superman bites the dust
When my granddaughter Kim was about three, I often took her to play in a nearby park.
OLD MAN AND THE SEA
Meet G. Govinda Menon, the 102-year-old engineer who had a key role in surveying the Vizhinjam coast in the 1940s, assessing its potential for an international port
Managing volatility: smarter equity choices in uncertain markets
THE INDIAN STOCK MARKET has delivered a strong 11 per cent CAGR over the past decade, with positive returns for eight straight years.
Investing in actively managed low-volatility portfolios keeps risks at bay
AFTER A ROARING bull market over the past year, equity markets in the recent months have gone into a correction mode as FIIs go on a selling spree. Volatility has risen and investment returns are hurt.
