#CRYPTOCURRENCY ENERGY CONSUMPTION VERIFICATION#

In the case of bitcoin, this would be prohibitively expensive and, due to the shortage of hardware, is not feasible.Īnd so, any cryptocurrency built on a proof of work protocol is going to be plagued by, as Musk put it, 'insane' energy demands as it scales larger. In order to hijack the records, an entity would have to contribute over half of the total computing power. The security of the system is built into the enormous amount of computing power that is required to run it.

The miners verifying the records are then rewarded for their expenditures with bitcoin. In order to verify that the record is accurate, so-called bitcoin miners expend a significant amount of computing power.

#CRYPTOCURRENCY ENERGY CONSUMPTION VERIFICATION#

People who participate in this verification process are called miners and they are rewarded for their efforts in the form of cryptocurrency, in this case, bitcoin. By solving the equation, they verify that the blockchain is accurate. The decentralized network of specialized computers, called 'rigs' or 'mining rigs,' works hard to solve very complex mathematical equations. To understand the implications of proof of stake, it's important to first detail the way bitcoin currently works: a system called proof of work. And for some cryptocurrencies, it's already in use. So this decentralized thing, this crypto thing, it's not going anywhere, but there's also a much better way to do it.' 'When humans find new tools they use them. 'It's a fundamental breakthrough for humanity, we can now do things that we could not do otherwise,' said Danny Ryan, a researcher at the Ethereum Foundation, of decentralized computer systems and blockchain technology. It's an issue that some blockchain evangelists think they can solve - and potentially open the door to more widespread adoption of the technology. He cited the use of fossil fuels for bitcoin mining as a reason.

The debate about bitcoin's environmental impact was elevated earlier this month when Tesla CEO Elon Musk, once one of the most notable bitcoin boosters, said his company would no longer accept it for the purchase of vehicles.

Cryptocurrency energy consumption