There is always a war against Bitcoin. From its onset, the revolutionary financial system has always been under attack. First, it was called a vehicle for money launderers and drug cartels to operate; then, the green card was thrown out after its relevance could no longer be contained. Although the threats currently go beyond the calls for global climate preservation and government regulations, the premise of the attacks remains the same.
Bitcoin operates under a proof-of-work consensus. This consensus mechanism requires the use of miners to solve a high-level computing question, and the miner that gets it right or comes closest to the answer will validate the next block. The game is a battle of speed and strength, which means the normal household computers are no longer suitable for mining. At the advent of bitcoin, you could make some cool cash with your 4th generation computer; but now, probably not.
Another consensus mechanism that has taken the world by storm is the Proof-of-Stake. The best crypto coins for staking offer investors an extra way to earn passively and not just go through the buy-and-hold strategy. Ethereum, one of the most widely used cryptocurrencies and the biggest by market cap, only second to bitcoin, has started its transition from the proof-of-work to the proof-of-stake. Although there have been so many hiccups along the way, considerable progress has been made.
This has allowed several calls to be made from prominent organizations for bitcoin to upgrade from the proof-of-work. A crypto founder has joined the call, and this marks the first time a prominent person in the crypto space is launching an in-house attack.
Bitcoin and energy
One of the most important parts of Bitcoin is how it’s mined. Miners must solve complex mathematical calculations to mine new coins. They do this by using powerful computers called nodes that constantly verify transactions on behalf of everyone else who uses BTC.
It’s no secret that mining is a competitive and difficult endeavor. It requires knowledge of how to operate hardware and an understanding of cryptocurrency prices to make money off your efforts. The first Bitcoin bull run exposed these truths once more when competition skyrocketed due to the increased demand for new machines equipped with high-consuming energy demands.
The data from the CBECI shows that Bitcoin mining demand has grown to 116.71 terawatt-hours per year or just over 8% of total global electricity consumption for 2017!
The truth is this: we’re talking about a tiny sliver when compared to other financial structures like gold and banks. The former uses around 240TeraWatts per year, while the latter uses 263TeraWatts.
The astonishing thing about this statistic is that it takes only one year for unused connected devices in the USA to spend the electricity of 10 countries. In fact, if all the energy from those unused electronics were instead devoted to Bitcoin mining – which could happen thanks in part to a new study by CBECI- then we would be able to feed their network for almost two years without fail.
Therefore, it’s clear that Bitcoin doesn’t use up all that much energy. In fact, the amount of electricity wasted from industrial use is in multiple of the electricity used to mine bitcoin yearly.
Why then is the clamor for Green Bitcoin getting louder?
Like many other changes, the format for bitcoin moving to the proof-of-stake has gone through some tumult and protests. The goal is achieved by encouraging people and organizations alike with an interest in changing how crypto operates, as well as those who feel strongly about climate change itself. Ripple co-founder is partnering with Green peace, a climate change group, to ensure bitcoin changes its code just like Ethereum is doing.
The motto of the protest has been tagged “change the code, not climate,” and since there is no satoshi Nagamoto, it has been aimed at popular crypto proponents, most especially Elon Musk. They say that by doing so, they can help create a more sustainable future for all of us, even if it means changing something as fundamental in its operation as Bitcoin mining hardware!
The environmental organization Greenpeace has raised concerns about Bitcoin mining, citing what they call an “energy-intensive” process that uses fossil fuels and natural gas as ways to fuel its operations.
The environmental organization Greenpeace announced that it would be hiatus accepting bitcoin donations. This marks an end to its 7-year accepting period. This decision was made to avoid any ties with “the volatile cryptocurrency market” Around the same time too, Elon Musk’s recent announcement made headline news about his company, Tesla, no longer taking payments via Bitcoin.
Ethereum’s new proof-of-stake system will be much less environmentally harmful than Bitcoin’s current mining process, according to environmental group Greenpeace. The non-profit organization says that with this change in place, Ethereum can become a more sustainable cryptocurrency while still offering investors some of its advantages like cheaper fees and faster transaction times thanks largely because it doesn’t rely on wasteful energy consumption from mining.
Conclusion
So, what do you think? Should Bitcoin follow Ethereum in moving to the proof-of-stake algorithm? Let us know what you think in the comments below. In the meantime, if you want to trade your crypto tokens, visit Redot.com and experience our user-friendly platform. We offer 24/7 customer support, so you can always get help when you need it.
Read: Recent big fall in Bitcoin, cryptocurrency investable in 2022 or not?
