Ethereum 2.0 to Reduce Carbon Emission, Will this Lead to Mass Adoption?

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Ethereum 2.0 to Reduce Carbon Emission, Will this Lead to Mass Adoption?

The Ethereum 2.0 upgrade, which has moved Ethereum from the proof-of-work to the proof-of-stake era, has finally launched after years of preparation. Members of the Ethereum community were excited about all the new changes the proof-of-stake era would bring. However, environmentalists on the Ethereum network are excited that the upgrade will reduce carbon emissions during the production of ETH by an impressive 99%.

Carbon Emissions and Energy Requirements Have Prevented Cryptocurrency Adoption

Most cryptocurrencies are mined just like the original cryptocurrency, Bitcoin. Mining is an incredibly energy-intensive process that has prevented cryptocurrency adoption on a global scale. The yearly cost of mining the ETH token in the proof-of-work era was an estimated 72 terawatts in Austria alone. Today, this cost will be reduced by 99% since solving difficult mathematical computations will no longer be required to get new ETH.

If the new Ethereum proof-of-stake network doesn’t require mining how will ETH be acquired? As the name implies, new ETH tokens will be generated through a process known as staking. Simply put, stakes are pledges from individuals and cryptocurrency institutions that want to participate in network validation.

With Ethereum leaving the proof-of-work protocol, it is only a matter of time till many other altcoins follow this path. Coins like Cardano, Solano, Algorand, and many others are already using the proof-of-stake protocol for token creation. However, Bitcoin is still based on the proof-of-work protocol and there is no evidence this will change anytime soon.

As the foremost cryptocurrency per market capitalization, Bitcoin is currently the largest consumer of electricity in the industry. If the migration to proof-of-stake leads to global adoption of Ethereum, there is a good chance that Ethereum will be the cryptocurrency of the future, with the capacity to overthrow Bitcoin.

Price of Ethereum (ETH) Following the Merge

In other news, the price of Ethereum (ETH) after biggest cryptocurrency event of the year is $1,579.73. It is down by 1.36% against the USD, trading in the $1,572.60 to $1,648.95 range over the last 24 hours.

Ronald Henderson

Ronald has worked in the computer industry for 5 years when he decided to stand on his own and start his own firm, and he's never looked back. A real hard-worker and go-getter, he is a powerful leader and has made quite a name for himself in the industry. Born and raised in Pennsylvania, he still resides there with his wife and two kids, Mark and Gene. He believes that simplicity is the key to everything in life, including writing, and loves to make his content engaging and easy to understand for all audiences - even those who aren’t necessarily from a technical background.