“It’s not printed like cash. It’s not a physical object like a gold bar. It’s not stored on a piece of plastic like a debit card. It just exists somewhere in a vast digital expanse until it’s excavated into circulation by a so-called bitcoin miner. In this illustrated guide, we’ll cover the following: How bitcoin is created (a process called mining). How the economics of mining have changed over time. The effects this process has on power consumption.” The Hustle with an illustrated guide: How are bitcoin created?