• TRON Founder Justin Sun is optimistic a transition from PoW to PoS systems is important to meet sustainability goals for blockchain systems.
• Ethereum exemplified this through The Merge that cut energy consumption by 99%

Justin Sun, the founder of TRON, recently told Nasdaq how a transition from Proof of Work (PoW) to Proof of Stake (PoS) would enhance energy efficiency and scalability. He listed energy consumption, scalability and efficiency, and small validators as some advantages of this transition. 

The TRON founder listed several other strategies that could be engaged to ultimately lead to reduced energy consumption. Sun added:

Reduced energy consumption is relatively simple and mostly related to PoS algorithms. Scalability and efficiency are also significantly increased through PoS networks. This decentralization can lead to increased network security and resilience,

In his opinion, such energy-efficient blockchain designs are a great way to control the carbon footprint of blockchain technology. Also, optimizing the design and architecture of blockchain networks to reduce computational requirements, minimize data storage, and optimize network protocols can contribute reasonably to improving energy efficiency.

Carbon offsetting initiatives, implementation of off-chain transactions, or layer-two scaling solutions were some other alternatives considered by Sun. VeChain is one of the few platforms geared towards revolutionizing the sustainability of the blockchain and reducing carbon emissions.

Reducing the Carbon Footprint of Blockchain Technology

Blockchain technology has been of immense benefit to different sectors and industries, but it is worth noting that the decentralized and distributed ledger technology (DLT) has a significant carbon footprint which is contributed by the energy-intensive process of verifying transactions and creating new blocks on the blockchain, a process called mining. Over time, this carbon emission has been discovered to interfere with climate conditions and also translate to significant greenhouse gas emissions.

Mining consumes a large amount of energy due to the use of high-powered computing equipment, like ASIC (Application-Specific Integrated Circuit) miners and GPUs (Graphics Processing Units). Many initiatives have been pushing efforts towards making the mining process and blockchain technology greener through the use of other sustainable and renewable energy alternatives including solar, hydropower, or wind power, to fuel mining activities.

Another alternative is the adoption of the PoS consensus algorithm. Unlike the PoW consensus mechanism utilized by the leading cryptocurrency Bitcoin (BTC), PoS is more sustainable and requires way less energy. Markedly, PoW consensus mechanisms are highly energy-intensive as they require miners to solve complex mathematical puzzles.

According to the Cambridge Centre of Alternative Finance (CCAF), BTC currently uses around 110 Terawatt Hours each year. This is equivalent to the amount of energy consumed by small nations like Malaysia or Sweden in a year.

During The Merge in September 2022, Ethereum (ETH) transitioned from the PoW to the PoS consensus algorithm. The highlight of the technical upgrade was the fact that it could cut down the chain’s carbon emissions by over 99%. While validators no longer had to invest so much in electricity, they had to donate their cryptocurrency in a staking process instead.

Instead of the huge amount invested in electricity, the PoS algorithm allows validators to create new blocks based on the number of coins they hold and are willing to “stake” as collateral. 

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