Ethereum switches on the power saving mode with its “merge”.
Cryptocurrencies are not only popular, they also eat up a lot of energy. Ethereum now wants to take countermeasures here and will rely on a significantly more energy-saving process in the future.
Cryptocurrencies have become increasingly popular in recent years. According to Investing.com, there were 9,974 different cryptocurrencies on the market as of September. The figure is just below the July peak of 10,894 cryptocurrencies.
But despite their great popularity, Bitcoin, Ethereum and Co. are repeatedly confronted with criticism. One of the biggest points of criticism is the enormous energy consumption of cryptocurrencies.
But this is exactly where Ethereum wants to take countermeasures. Because the cryptocurrency has completed the so-called “merge”. and can now save a lot of energy.
How Much Energy Do Cryptocurrencies Consume?
The energy consumption of cryptocurrencies has often been criticized in the past. Bitcoin currently consumes around 125 terawatt hours of electricity per year, as estimated by the Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index. The cryptocurrency thus consumes more than Ukraine, which requires around 124.5 terawatt hours of electricity annually.
according to estimates the power consumption of Ethereum so far only slightly below that of Bitcoin. According to this, the cryptocurrency is said to have consumed around 106 terawatt hours of electricity per year as of January.
But that should now be the end of Ethereum. Because the crypto currency has switched from the “Proof of Work” procedure to the “Proof of Stake” procedure with the “Merge”.
The latter is significantly more energy-efficient than the “Proof of Work” process, which is also used with Bitcoin.
What will change in Ethereum in the future?
As the research company Crypto Carbon Ratings Institute (CCRI) has calculated, the power consumption of Ethereum will drop by a full 99.988 percent after the “merge”.
This calculation is based on a slightly different estimate of power consumption. Because the CCRI assumes that Ethereum has consumed around 23 terawatt hours annually so far.
In the future, the number is to be reduced significantly, namely to 2,600 megawatt hours per year. That’s the equivalent of just 0.0026 terawatt hours. To better illustrate what this means, CCRI compares this saving to shrinking the Eiffel Tower to the size of a Lego figure.
The CCRI further estimates that around Ethereum will no longer cause eleven million tons of CO2 emissions annually in the future, but only around 870 tons. That is as much as 100 US households consume in one year.
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