date of publication:
September 24, 2022 19:59 GMT
Update date: September 24, 2022 20:30 GMT
On September 15, 2022, the cryptocurrency “Ethereum” turned green by turning the mining mechanism into a greener and less resource-intensive “Proof of Stake” method.
According to an analysis from the Crypto Carbon Ratings Institute, the transition should reduce Ethereum’s electricity use by 99.988%, significantly reducing its environmental impact.
But Ethereum is the second most popular cryptocurrency, while the world’s most popular and most traded currency, Bitcoin, is still using a power-intensive “Proof of Work” system, and is unlikely to change in the near future.
“What the technical team achieved on (Ethereum) was challenging and surprising,” said researcher Christian Catalini, founder of the Cryptoeconomics Laboratory at the American Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
He added, “While updates for simple applications and operating systems fail sometimes, the (Ethereum) team completed a major update without any error thanks to their planning and high readiness.”
He continued, “The merger shows that a massive update like this one is opening up to test its application to the more massive Bitcoin domain.”
“Bitcoin” relies on “Proof of Work,” which performs complex arithmetic operations by means of a large number of computers around the world, to answer complex mathematical problems.
When one computer out of thousands gets the correct answer, it gets a share of Bitcoin, which leads to the consumption of large amounts of electricity.
A “share proof” chooses a random computer to give it a math problem to solve, in exchange for putting a share of the cryptocurrency in the market.
An analysis from the German “Crypto Carbon Ratings” Institute indicated that the merger reduces the consumption of electricity by 99.99% of the currency mining, which has a positive impact on the environment.
Bitcoin has used the “Proof of Work” method for 15 years, while the new method is still in the process of being tested and verified for its security, and if the “stake proof” succeeds in proving its security and quality of work, it may change the future of digital currencies.
But the proof-of-stake method is theoretically vulnerable to more digital attacks, as well as many problems with federal legislation in the United States.
Catalini stated that the environment of “Bitcoin” is more conservative and fearful of risk, unlike “Ethereum” with its programmable structure, appropriate for the transition to a new way of working.
He added, “The two operations are not in a competitive position, which eliminates the possibility that Bitcoin (Ethereum) will follow in the footsteps of turning into a green currency soon.” According to the Bob Psy website.
In light of the “Bitcoin” consumption of electricity similar to the electricity need of the State of Pakistan, the move of users to invest in sustainable ways to obtain electricity from renewable sources may make it a green currency despite its continued use of “Proof of Work”.