It's becoming increasingly tough to earn money from making bitcoins; it's the makers of souped-up computer equipment that are minting it
Tucked away in an airconditioned data centre in Silicon Valley is a hotchpotch of black boxes, circuit boards and cooling fans owned by 27-year-old Aaron Jackson-Wilde, a modern-day prospector looking for bitcoins.
Since discovering the digital currency a few months ago, Jackson-Wilde has paid about US$2,000 for his "rigs", which are powered by specialised computer chips. They are designed to help operate and maintain the bitcoin network - and, in return, generate a small reward in a process known as "bitcoin mining".