Algorand, a carbon-negative blockchain platform darkened the Times Square in New York. For one hour, turning off all of the blinking billboards and flashing lights will save around 23.4 billion joules of electricity. The same amount of energy would only power the Bitcoin network for 1.5 seconds.
“Algorand was designed from the ground up to do [this]… This is what differentiates us from other blockchains.”
For one hour, darkening Times Square saved 23.4 billion joules of energy. The same amount of energy that powers the square’s hustle and bustle for 60 minutes would run the Bitcoin network for 1.5 seconds. However, it could power 350 million transactions on Algorand’s ledger.
Algorand darkened Times Square in New York to prove crypto doesn’t have to be bad for the planet
As blockchains gain pace, the environmental impact of cryptocurrency, particularly the carbon-intensive nature of Bitcoin mining, has become a lightning rod. Algorand verifies genuine transactions using a pure proof-of-stake consensus technique. The protocol teamed with ClimateTrade, a blockchain-based marketplace for delivering CO2 offsets, last year.
Algorand, the world’s first carbon-negative blockchain protocol did that by blacking out New York’s Times Square to conserve energy and put competing systems to the test in terms of energy costs.
Algorand verifies genuine transactions using a pure proof-of-stake consensus technique. Proof of work, the main villain in claims of crypto’s carbon footprint, forces so-called verifiers to load supercomputers with solving complex mathematical riddles, resulting in large quantities of electricity being spent in mining.
“From normal payments to NFTs, DeFi, and the metaverse, we have the technology to enable speed, scale, security, and decentralization on a carbon-neutral platform,” said Staci Warden, CEO of the foundation. “Algorand was designed from the ground up to do [this]… This is what differentiates us from other blockchains.” To become net-carbon-negative, the protocol teamed with ClimateTrade, a blockchain-based marketplace for delivering CO2 offsets, last year.
Bitcoin, the world’s most valuable cryptocurrency has a market capitalization of about $790 trillion. Whereas Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency with less than half of Bitcoin’s market capitalization, plans to switch from proof of work to proof of stake later this year.
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