Electricity consumption has been one of the major concerns with the advent of cryptocurrencies especially Polkadot. Though with models running with the Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus mechanism, this electricity use seems to be minimal since their process for transaction validations is staking. But the story is not the same for those running with Proof-of-Work (PoW) such as Bitcoin.
Mining is the associated process through which the PoW models could validate their network transactions. However, the process consumes lots of electricity as it uses highly computational equipment to solve cryptographic puzzles.
This high energy consumption led to several crackdowns on crypto mining in different countries, especially Bitcoin, in 2021. The move was in line with the argument that such practices facilitate environmental pollution.
This concern on energy consumption propelled the Crypto Carbon Ratings Institute (CCRI) to research the rate of electricity consumption by some blockchains. CCRI studied some networks like Solana, Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Polkadot in its research.
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Based on the results from CCRI research, Polkadot, the strong competitor of Ethereum, emerged as the network with the least electricity consumption compared with Ethereum, Solana, Bitcoin, and other top cryptocurrencies.
This indicates that Polkadot minimally impacts environmental and climatic changes and pollution more than the other networks. According to the CCRI rating, Polkadot’s energy consumption is 6.6 times the annual value of electricity used by an average U.S. family.
A blockchain’s electricity consumption stands as a high determinant factor of its capital inflow from institutional investors. This formed Tesla’s 2021 move against Bitcoin as the electric car company suspended BTC as one of its payment options. The car giant cited BTC mining’s environmental impact as totally unacceptable.
Among all the networks involved in the research, Bitcoin shows the highest energy consumption. Next in the line are Ethereum, Solana, Cardano, Algorand, Avalanche, and Tezos.
Polkadot Announces Pioneers Prize Program
Polkadot has announced its Pioneers Prize Program in a recent move for more technological innovation within its ecosystem. This program is packed with $20 million rewards. The picking of winners will be through a series of challenges and some set prizes. It’s part of the network’s plan to facilitate the growth of its ecosystem and Web3.
The field and general outlook of the network have put DOT on a bullish trend for investors. The contributory influences are coming from Polkadot’s rating of low electricity consumption and its Pioneers Prize Program.
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From analysts’ evaluation of the Polkadot price trend, the protocol has rounded off both its retest and breakout. Most of them think that the DOT has moved to its buy zone.
Featured image from Pixabay, chart from TradingView.com