Four members of the United States House of Representatives from the Energy and Commerce Committee have demanded answers from four major crypto mining firms in regards to the potential effects of their energy consumption on the environment. In letters dated Wednesday to Core Scientific, Marathon Digital Holdings, Riot Blockchain, and Stronghold Digital Mining, U.S. lawmakers Frank Pallone, Bobby Rush, Diana DeGette, and Paul Tonko requested the companies provide information from 2021 including the energy consumption of their mining facilities, the source of that energy, what percentage came from renewable energy sources, and how often the firms curtailed operations. The four …

Using nonfungible tokens (NFTs) as carbon credits, or carbon offsets, reveals an outlet for Web3 technology to foster a more environmentally friendly future. NFTs as carbon credits are a slow-rolling trend in the refinance market and decentralized finance (DeFi). Most of this activity currently takes place on the Polygon (MATIC) blockchain, as it has already offset its entire carbon footprint. However, the way these digital assets work with carbon credits differs from other ventures in the space. Rather than a store of wealth or a piece of unique digital art, carbon credit NFTs serve as a repository of information related …

The excitement surrounding blockchain technology is palpable, but it's been coupled with growing concerns about the impact that mining has on the environment. But some crypto projects are tackling these climate fears head-on — with Algorand positioning itself as a high-performance, decentralized network that achieves sustainability without sacrificing speed, scale, or security. Built as a blockchain with very low energy use, those behind this platform have started a foundation that aims to highlight why blockchains must be eco-friendly — all while offering a lasting solution that's carbon negative, fast, scalable and secure. The vision? To prove that our financial futures …

Climate change has become an important issue over the years due to concerns over environmental changes caused by the emission of greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere. Conversations have even reached the crypto space, and blockchain technology is being considered a potential tool to reduce carbon emissions. Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) that use the proof-of-work (PoW) mining algorithm have come under scrutiny due to their alleged energy expenditure. To see where this scrutiny comes from, it first needs to be known how much energy is used when mining PoW cryptocurrencies. Unfortunately, estimating the amount of energy necessary to …

The energy use and sustainability of blockchain technology is a burning topic. But some projects are seeking to ensure their activities are eco-friendly — all while giving environmentally conscious consumers an option to go green. One of them is GRNGrid. Here, founder and CMO John Errol de Vroede tells us more about the platform's sustainability credentials, how this is achieved, and why its approach to Proof-of-Stake avoids common pitfalls surrounding centralization. 1. Hello! Can you simply explain what your project does? GRNGrid is an environmentally friendly, scalable and stable Layer 1 blockchain, with novel DeFi features. These features give everyone …

In his monthly crypto tech column, Israeli serial entrepreneur Ariel Shapira covers emerging technologies within the crypto, decentralized finance (DeFi) and blockchain space, as well as their roles in shaping the economy of the 21st century. The post-mortem consensus on the crypto market crash among industry leaders ranging from Polygon co-founder Mihailo Bjelic to billionaire crypto investor Mark Cuban is that bear markets are a healthy way of cleansing the market. The latter even referred to a line used by long-time crypto critic Warren Buffet to express his opinion of the matter. “Only when the tide goes out do you …

South Africa-based H20 Securities has reportedly raised $150 million from the GEM Digital investment firm through the sale of the H20N token. By investing such a tremendous amount, GEM Digital will hold H20N tokens, which will be used to guide funding in water delivery infrastructure in areas that lack sufficient access to fresh water. GEM Digital is a $3.4 billion Bahamas-based investment firm specializing in alternative investments such as digital assets and resource extraction devices. H20 Securities aims to bring more significant development in water infrastructure worldwide and hopes that its solution will increase water availability to the world’s population. …

In a small coastal town just north of Brisbane, Queensland, 20 members of the Coolum Surf Club have been taking part in an initial trial of the Erth Point System, a crypto rewards platform from the Australian company Rewards4Earth. Doug Flockhart, former CEO of Clubs Queensland, the body for community clubs in the state, spoke to Cointelegraph about how his goal is to integrate the system through over 1,000 community clubs across Australia. Flockhart said the top professional rugby league competition, the National Rugby League (NRL), “are very keen” on the idea and for Flockhart, it “confirms the capacity of …

A group of 14 United States senators and House representatives have signed a letter to the Environmental Protection Agency extolling what they believe are the benefits of crypto mining. In a Thursday letter, many U.S. lawmakers including pro-Bitcoin Senator Cynthia Lummis and Representative Tom Emmer addressed EPA administrator Michael Regan, requesting the government agency analyze the potential impact of crypto mining in an effort to balance innovation with environmental concerns. The group of 14 senators and representatives claimed mining could have a “substantial stabilizing effect on energy grids” and cited examples of mining operations using flared gas and renewable energy …

When the market falls faster than a tree in the forest, the phrases “zoom out” and “lower your time preference” take root. “Zoom out” refers to taking a break from the omnipresent price charts that populate news feeds and Twitter threads. Consider looking at the price of Bitcoin (BTC) over the past five years as opposed to over the past six,12 or 18 months. But what does “lower your time preference,” popular parlance among Bitcoiners, actually mean? Commonly attributed to Saifedean Ammous, the polarizing author who penned The Bitcoin Standard, lowering one’s time preference translates to thinking long-term and valuing …

The Carbon Bankroll Report was released on May 17 as a collaboration among the Climate Safe Lending Network, The Outdoor Policy Outfit and Bank FWD. The collaboration made it possible to calculate the emissions generated due to a company’s cash and investments, such as cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities. The report revealed that for several large companies, such as Alphabet, Meta, Microsoft and Salesforce, the cash and investments are their largest source of emissions. The energy consumption of the flagship proof-of-work (PoW) blockchain network, Bitcoin, has been a matter of debate in which the network and its participants, especially …

An International Monetary Fund study on energy consumption has reveale the importance of design choices within the crypto ecosystem to build an environmentally friendly mainstream payment system. In the study, titled “Digital Currencies and Energy Consumption,” the IMF examines the energy consumption of crypto assets based on their distinct design elements to evaluate the ideal mechanism for developing central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). Sharing the groundwork for policy discussions around the environmental impacts of digital currencies, the IMF recommends moving away from proof-of-work-based distributed ledger technology applications, adding: “In particular, Bitcoin, the best known application of this type, is estimated …