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With the recent increase in international recognition of cryptocurrency, some people celebrated; others got more FOMO; some decided to eat more cake, and some had more questions. Questions such as "What is the impact of crypto on existing retail and trade infrastructure?", or "How will cross-border debt settlements be handled?", or "How reliable is the valuation pegs between stable coins and fiat"? or "How will crypto networks and providers conform with existing carbon emission standards"? These questions are completely valid. You would probably ask questions if someone handed you a half-eaten banana and said "eat it now"! You would probably ask, "where did this banana come from?" or "who ate this banana?"
Crypto is like a half-eaten banana. A lot (meaning millions of people) have already entered the crypto space as investors or developers. As you read this post, they're currently munching up some of the great opportunities that are out there. So, the interest to know more about crypto assets is natural because, from the eyes of institutions and policy-focused groups, crypto has a much broader ranging effect than just 'changing' the payment landscape. For instance, there is a significant amount of debate about the Proof of Work protocol "mechanism" and how it could impact climate change reduction strategies.
Bitcoin is the most widely recognized cryptocurrency on the planet. It was the first to develop a protocol that would verify transactions on the blockchain. But, in all things, there will always be something that comes up that is better (eventually). In time, new cryptocurrencies with faster transaction speeds, security, efficiency, more opportunities for investors to grow their portfolio, and more climate-friendly.
How can a crypto network be more eco-friendly or "green"? The answer is simple - blockchain transaction verifications. Bitcoin's first Proof of Work model focuses on the use of "mining" which would help verify transactions and add new coins to the mix. Miners would get rewarded for helping the blockchain in this way. However, as the amount of Bitcoin users grew, the coin supply decreases, which made it harder to mine new Bitcoins (i.e., because the size of the block that you have to mine gets progressively bigger). And with the consistent Bitcoin halving events that have been occurring for the past decade, the mining speed isn't going to get any better - unless you get more mining power.
Individuals and companies have invested millions of dollars on expensive mining equipment to tackle all of these larger "blocks", but using this equipment probably results in hefty electricity bills. This is why people have been turning to renewable energy sources to power their Bitcoin mining needs. However, two issues are raised from this activity. The first is the issue of progressive electricity demand. With each successive block that is mined, you need more mining time to get the next block done - which saps more electricity. The second is the issue of renewable energy resource management. If there was another way to verify transactions that were more eco-friendly, couldn't that precious energy be used instead to power peoples' homes? You know, people actually need to use their microwaves, cool their foods, and would probably be happy if their energy bills weren't silently creeping upwards.
This is where new forms of blockchain transaction verification systems came in. For instance, there are new cryptocurrencies on the market which focus on another popular model called Proof of Stake. This is where investors stake a certain amount of their crypto on the blockchain to help verify other transaction blocks. The collective blockchain network still needs power, but the stakers don't "physically" mine stuff using energy-guzzling equipment. In comparison to the PoW protocol, the PoS model uses significantly less energy.
And there are even more cryptos out there that aim to be even better. One of these cryptos is called the Eco Value Coin (EVC). Its main purpose is to be involved in the trading of CO2 emissions contracts. One way of thinking about it is that these are essentially agreements regarding CO2 emissions (i.e., basically how much pollution you can or cannot produce). Some companies need more "pollution allowance" than others because of how big they are. For example, a large coal and oil extraction company will probably have higher emissions than, say, a small candy factory. If the candy factory was given a bigger "pollution allowance" contract, the bigger oil company might want to trade their smaller "pollution allowance" contract with the candy factory's bigger CO2 emissions "allowance". So, even though pollution could not be erased. This kind of trading makes companies more aware of their emissions and encourages control of CO2 emissions.
Based on EVC's roadmap, they have many noble goals such as creating a carbon emission trading blockchain system; expanding the exchange overseas to the US, Canada, Australia, and parts of Europe; establishing an institute for sustainable energy; involvement in the Green Technology International Standard as well as smart farming, and other green research and tech-related endeavors. You can learn more about the Eco Value Coin at: https://www.ecovaluecoin.com/
What are your thoughts on the "green" energy blockchains of the future?
