A change in the way the cryptocurrency Ethereum works may have cut its power consumption by country-sized amounts. The amount of electricity saved is similar to that used by Ireland or even Austria, work published in the data-science journal Patterns suggests. Bitcoin, the largest crypto, is thought to use more electricity than Finland. It has even been suggested emissions from Bitcoin could exceed the global savings currently made by driving electric vehicles, the article notes. Like all cryptocurrencies, Ethereum relies on a blockchain, a giant, constantly updating database, logging every transaction. Previously, this was maintained and verified by a system called Proof of Work, used by many cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin. Companies and volunteers whose computers helped to run the network were rewarded with new cryptocurrency coins. The more work they completed, the greater the chance of creating new coins. This encouraged businesses to set up massive warehouses of computers running 24-7, often on energy derived from fossil fuels, the article suggests. But on 15 September, in an event known as The Merge, Ethereum switched to a system called Proof of Stake, where the chance of creating a new coin no longer depends on the amount of computing work completed.
Full story : Ethereum change cut cryptocurrency power demand.
