Environmentalists have been sounding the alarm for decades. Now global warming is becoming an increasingly obvious process. How guilty humanity is of its onset and whether it can slow down this process is not known for certain. But this does not mean that you should not even try to reduce the pressure of civilization on its habitat, but quite the opposite. Ultimately, the world economy began to turn towards the environment. The general trend towards environmental friendliness has not spared the crypto industry. Perhaps a one-time swap USDT TRC20 to ERC20 is not very energy-intensive, but if you take into account the global number of transactions, the numbers are quite impressive.
Contributing to environmental technology in general is not that difficult. For example, when choosing a cryptocurrency for investment, you should first make sure that the development team prioritizes the environmental friendliness of their project. Typically, these projects often use advanced technologies to reduce energy consumption or even eliminate their carbon footprint entirely.
Best green gryptocurrencies
Tezos (XTZ)
In 2022, the ultra-fast Tezos blockchain was recognized as the most environmentally friendly cryptocurrency. Over the past year, the project has gained attention for its significant partnerships with Manchester United and McLaren Racing, which has helped to increase awareness of the project. This surge in interest has helped Tezos developers expand the network and make it more environmentally sustainable.
In the last days of spring 2023, the team implemented another update to increase the speed of transaction processing. The platform's throughput exceeded 1 million TPS with network energy consumption comparable to the annual energy consumption of 17 people.
Investors also appreciated the development team's promise to gradually reduce the network's energy consumption as it grows. It's great that the Tezos team provides accurate data on the blockchain's emission levels every month, which have been steadily decreasing over time.
Ethereum (ETH)
For a long time, Ethereum has used a "Proof-of-Work" (PoW) consensus mechanism based on the energy-intensive process of "mining" to ensure the security of the network. However, just over a year ago, Ethereum switched to a Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus mechanism, which consumes much less energy.
These changes have resulted in Ethereum now using 99% less energy than before. The Ethereum team expresses a clear commitment to sustainability, even calling their network a “green blockchain.”
The green cryptocurrency Ethereum also provides investors with additional benefits following the transition to a "greener" consensus mechanism, such as the possibility of generating income through staking. However, this circumstance does not eliminate the need to rebalance the portfolio and does not mean that you need to abandon the conversion of ETN to BTC.
Solana (SOL)
Solana stands out among the few green cryptocurrencies that aim to improve the services provided by the Ethereum network, with its positive Solana koers reflecting investor confidence in its potential. The Solana blockchain supports smart contracts and provides a framework for decentralized application (dApp) developers and NFT creators. However, thanks to its unique consensus algorithm, Solana is significantly more scalable.
The network is capable of processing 65,000 transactions per second, and fees are several orders of magnitude lower than the Ethereum network. Solana's environmental friendliness is highlighted by the fact that a single transaction consumes only 3,290 Joules of electricity. In addition, Solana offsets its emissions by financing the destruction of refrigerants. Through this process, the Solana network has become carbon neutral, and the developers are committed to maintaining this status in the long term.
Hedera (HBAR)
Hedera stands out among the few green cryptocurrencies by eschewing traditional blockchain technology in favor of a unique "hash graph" algorithm. This algorithm uses "hashes" instead of blocks to store data, giving the Hedera network an accelerated pace as the number of users grows.
By abandoning blockchain technology in favor of a hash graph, Hedera has a number of advantages, including increased efficiency and scalability. As the network becomes more widely used, it shows an increase in data processing speed. This innovative approach makes Hedera one of the leaders in environmental friendliness, providing an effective and fast solution for a wide range of users.
Chia (XCH)
Many experts consider Chia one of the most promising cryptocurrency projects thanks to a unique consensus algorithm that provides wider access to Chia, but also guarantees minimal network energy consumption.
The Proof-of-Space-and-Time protocol verifies transactions on the Chia blockchain using unused space on hard and solid-state drives. Network participants “generate” hashes on these storage devices, which are then used to validate blocks. According to Chia, this approach accounts for just 0.16% of Bitcoin's annual energy consumption. In addition, validators do not need complex computing equipment, which reduces the amount of electronic waste. As a result, grid energy consumption remains below 0.20 TWh per year.
