This is pretty insane: thanks to some outside investors, a former HSBC programmer has dumped more than $2 million (100 computers at $20K a pop) into a custom-built bitcoin-mining facility in Iceland. Energy's cheap there, and the cool climate's used to keep the equipment from overheating. To get into the windowless facility, you have to go past a fortified gate, a guard behind bulletproof glass, then through a "man trap."

"Last Wednesday ... the entire operation unlocked 225 Bitcoins, valued at around $160,000 at recent prices." Not bad! The full story is here:

http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2013/12/21/into-the-bitcoin-mines/