The impact of cryptocurrencies on the environment—particularly the carbon-guzzling nature of bitcoin mining—has been a lightning rod as blockchains develop into the mainstream.
Earth Day may be the right time to shed light on the issue once again – or, in this case, de-light it. Algorand, the first carbon-negative blockchain protocol of its kind, is doing just that by blacking out New York’s Times Square to save electricity and bring a showdown in energy costs for some competing protocols.
All that flickering billboards and flashing lights for one hour — tonight from 8 to 9 p.m. ET — will save about 23.4 billion joules of energy. But according to the Algorand Foundation (the group behind the protocol), the same amount of energy powering square hustle for 60 minutes would power only 1.5 seconds of bitcoin network operation and only six monetary transactions recorded on bitcoin’s blockchain ledger. Will do
However, it could power the 350 million transactions recorded in Algorand’s ledger and two weeks of network liveability, the group says.
This is because unlike bitcoin’s proof-of-work mechanism, Algorand uses a pure proof-of-stake consensus mechanism to verify authentic transactions. Proof-of-work, which is the main villain in criticisms of crypto’s carbon footprint, requires so-called validators to enable supercomputers to solve complex mathematical puzzles, thus the need for electricity referred to as mining. Huge amount is spent.
However, the proof-of-stake protocol requires validators to invest in the system, not with a load of electricity, but by holding cryptocurrency as collateral. The Algorand, which was engineered by MIT professor Silvio Micali—who also won the Turing Award often referred to as the “Nobel Prize of computing”—was designed with this in mind.
“From traditional payments to NFTs, DeFi and Metaverse, we have technology that delivers speed, scale, security and decentralization on a carbon-neutral platform,” said Foundation CEO Stacey Warden. “Algorand was built to achieve from the beginning” [this] , , , That’s what sets us apart from other blockchains.”
The blackout will follow a short message broadcast blazing green, urging people to “unplug, celebrate the earth, and commit to building a greener future.” Last year, the protocol partnered with ClimateTrade, a blockchain-based platform, to enable CO2 offsets to become carbon-negative.
Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency with a market capitalization of approximately $790 trillion, is proudly built on mining. However, Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency with less than half of bitcoin’s market cap, is gearing up to transition from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake later this year.
