Core engineers and leaders working in the Bitcoin community have reached an accord to transition to a "proof of steak" model for mining the cryptocurrency, sources say. The change comes after a massive unwinding that erased nearly $1 trillion across cryptocurrency markets last week. It's also thought to be in response to a common critique of Bitcoin and similar cryptocurrencies: massive energy inefficiency due to the intense energy needed for proof-of-work mining.

We were able to get in touch with Satoshi Nakamoto, a cryptocurrency hobbyist, to help us better explain the change and what it means for markets:

"Really what's happening here is that Elon Musk caught us red-handed. He's totally right - we are using too much energy. The future needs to be green, and what eats more green than anything? Cows. And what do they become? Steak. Everyone loves steak. So Bitcoin is going green and moving to proof of steak. We feel this will both resolve energy consumption issues and ensure a supply of tasty meat for future generations. Also I sold all my Bitcoin like 10 years ago"

Cathie Wood of ARK investing was reported to have moved her price target for Bitcoin to $1 quadrillion USD on the news.