A long-awaited upgrade to the Ethereum cryptocurrency network which could slash its energy consumption by 99 per cent has been delayed once more, as a new report reveals that it is using 23 terawatt hours of electricity annually 鈥� only slightly less than Ecuador, a country of 18 million people.
, an artist who incorporates technology into his work, has now published perhaps the most in-depth research on the energy use of the network.
The cryptocurrency has consumed a total of 39 terawatt hours since it launched in July 2015 according to his paper, but its annual usage is climbing dramatically as adoption increases. At the start of 2020, the Ethereum network is estimated to have been behind emissions of around 2 megatons of carbon dioxide a year, but in the second half of 2021 this soared to around 7 megatons.
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Like other cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin, Ethereum relies on 鈥減roof of work鈥� to secure its network, meaning that computers perform huge numbers of calculations to 鈥渕ine鈥� new currency and verify transactions. This uses vast amounts of electricity.
鈥淭he proof-of-work algorithm behind bitcoin and Ethereum is energy-hungry,鈥� says McDonald. 鈥淩ight now, in a moment when we need to be identifying every possible opportunity for emissions reduction, proof of work is already an unnecessary contributor to global emissions.鈥�
But, unlike bitcoin, Ethereum has been preparing to switch to a new system called proof of stake, where ownership of coins wields influence rather than control of computing power. This would require only 1 per cent of the power, developers claim.
The switch was originally scheduled for 2017, but has been delayed several times. Speaking to New Scientist in June, the creator of Ethereum, Vitalik Buterin, said it was just six to nine months way. But predictions from developers working on the network suggest this has now slipped at least several months, meaning that Ethereum will continue to use vast amounts of power and create significant carbon emissions.
, a researcher at the , a non-profit organisation that supports the cryptocurrency, says the emissions estimate from the paper appears accurate, and says that the core technology for proof of stake has already been developed and is being tested. 鈥淭here鈥檚 essentially zero chance that we鈥檙e not going to eventually have proof of stake. It鈥檚 just a matter of when, and I would be absolutely shocked if it didn鈥檛 happen in 2022,鈥� he says.
, a developer at the Ethereum Foundation, says the new paper is the best analysis yet done on the energy use of Ethereum. 鈥淲e鈥檙e using energy on a scale of countries to run these [networks] and that鈥檚 why my work is dedicated to moving away from this because it is truly insane,鈥� he says.
Beekhuizen says that most of the development team expects the upgrade to happen in the middle of 2022, but that a date at the end of the year is possible if unforeseen obstacles crop up. 鈥淲e have a lot of community members that care very deeply about the environment and about energy things and we have other community members who are sort of like climate denial people,鈥� he says. 鈥淪o it鈥檚 hard to make everyone happy in terms of what you prioritise.鈥�
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