Bitcoin miners facing growing scrutiny over the environmental impact of the process have turned to struggling carbon-free nuclear plants in an effort to resolve issues facing the industry, The Wall Street Journal reported. Miners hope the partnerships will create more stable and environmentally-friendly power, while also benefiting nuclear plants that are facing stiff competition from cheaper power sources and that need new customers. The “mining” of virtual currency refers to the competitive process of mathematical computation through which the virtual currency is rewarded. Unlike mining operations of minerals such as gold and iron, bitcoin mining doesn’t involve hulking equipment. Instead, bitcoin miners utilize warehouses of computers to solve computational problems to verify transactions, update, and maintain the bitcoin blockchain. In effect, the miners keep the bitcoin blockchain updated and in turn, are compensated with new blocks of bitcoin. However, critics have complained that bitcoin mining consumes high levels of electricity, which poses issues for both …