Cryptocurrency
Crytocurrency is a form of currency on the blockchain. Coins are "mined" by computers doing complex calculations that require prodigious amounts of electricity.
Some claim that cryptocurrency will remove the power to regulate currency from central banks and national governments. They also point to privacy benefits.
Critics point to crypto as a Ponzi scheme controlled by a small clique of insiders who are getting rich off of gullible investors. They also point to the wastefulness of using so much electricity for no tangible benefit. Another drawback is that for over ten years crypto has existed but has still not been widely adopted as a means of payment.
Governments including the United States have recently taken an interest in cryptocurrencies because they would like to regulate them better and collect taxes on the income generated.