There has been intense debate over the environmental impact of proof-of-work mining consensus such as Bitcoin. The energy-intensive PoW mining has become a highly contentious topic, and networks such as Ethereum are switching to a proof-of-stake consensus that will reduce energy consumption by 99%.
Charles Hoskinson says Bitcoin needs an upgrade
A recent report from the White House has expressed concern over the high energy usage by multiple industries. The industries mentioned in the report include cryptocurrency mining. The CEO of Input Output Global, Charles Hoskinson, has referred to this report talking about the dire consequences it posed for Bitcoin.
According to Hoskinson, the paper published under an order by US President Joe Biden seeks to ban Bitcoin mining that uses a PoW consensus. The ban follows growing concerns about the high energy consumed by the Bitcoin network.
Hoskinson spoke in a video update where he said that the EPA and the DOE were starting to debate cryptocurrencies and urging developers to change the way digital assets worked. One of the recommendations is banning Bitcoin.
Your capital is at risk.
One of the recommendations made by Hoskinson is for the Bitcoin network to use the Ofelimous upgrade. According to the Cardano founder, Ofelimous could help Bitcoin avoid regulatory scrutiny, and the primary cryptocurrency could survive.
Ofelimous is a proof-of-useful-work (PoUW) network, and the main objective is to reduce the carbon footprint of PoW networks like Bitcoin. The upgrade will be a notable development within the Bitcoin network because of the growing adoption of digital assets.
Hoskinson also said that authorities worldwide would continue expressing their concern about the carbon footprint left by crypto mining activities. The executive also added that PoS was better than PoW, saying that multiple authorities globally wanted to commence carbon scoring for crypto mining activities.
He also reiterated his belief that PoS was a superior consensus because it addressed many issues, such as the network design requirements. He added that PoS consensus networks had been developing for years before they were brought into the market. According to the Cardano founder, the report released by the White House proved significant advantages of using PoS networks.
The Cardano blockchain has been making headlines recently because of the soon-to-be-released Vasil upgrade. The Vasil upgrade is expected to boost the Cardano network’s scalability, attracting more decentralized applications (DApps). The Vasil upgrade is expected to be one of the most crucial upgrades on Cardano.
White House climate report
The Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) at the White House recently published a report showing the contribution of crypto assets to energy usage and greenhouse gas emissions.
The report focused on the use of blockchain technology in protecting the climate and suggested ways that the environmental impact on digital assets can be reduced. According to the estimates provided in the report, crypto assets use around 50 billion kilowatt-hours of energy annually in the United States.
Read more:
