Crypto is getting a lot of popularity from mainstream investors and companies. But one concern that has been cited by analysts time and again is the environmental impact and carbon footprint that all of these cryptocurrencies and especially BTC has. This is where Chia comes in. It is a green cryptocurrency, unlike Bitcoin, and the best part about Chia is that it’s new, and one can grab it at very low prices now. This is unlike Bitcoin that is currently trading at $50,000 per coin and also made a record high of $64,000.
The green cryptocurrency, Chia!
To understand that Chia is a green cryptocurrency, we need to know how extensively Bitcoin uses energy and how it works. Bitcoin was the first and the largest cryptocurrency that was based on a proof-of-work system. This means in order to mine the coins, one needs to process transactions by solving complex mathematical problems. This requires very powerful PC components and also used a lot of electricity.
When we sum it up, the energy usage of Bitcoin mining globally is a lot. And this has a lot of implications. First, the carbon footprint of the currency is huge, and that means that one can literally run states from the electricity consumed only for mining Bitcoin. Yes, most of it has been shifted to renewable, but even that energy can be better utilized elsewhere.
Now that you know how BTC is a energy extensive system let’s take a look at Chia. It has been based on “proof of space and time” instead of the usual “proof of work” or “proof of stake” systems. So, in order to mine tokens, users need empty disks with huge amounts of space in them. This space is used to store “plots,” and then users are rewarded based on their storages. This method is not energy extensive and requires almost no energy specifically for mining the coin. Hence, Chia is a green cryptocurrency alternative to Bitcoin.
The controversy with Chia!
Being a very green currency, it has attracted a lot of eyes, and the ease of mining has also created a lot of hustle in the industry. As i said earlier, for mining Chia one needs empty space. And this is why the demand for hard drives and storage devices went sky-high in China and many other parts of Asia. Another problem of Chia is the shelf life of the storage devices used in farming. In general, a hard drive lasts for 5 -10 years easily with normal usage. But by doing Chia farming, it has been estimated to be reduced to 40 days.
It also voids the warranty of the hard drives and also results in a huge pile of e-waste that isn’t good for the environment either. In a way, the green crypto claim of Chia flushes down the basin with this one problem. But even after all that, its impact will be much lesser than Bitcoin for sure.
What are your thoughts on the green cryptocurrency Chia? And do you think it is actually green or just claims to be so? Let us know in the comments below. Also, if you found our content informative, do like it and share it with your friends.
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