If you have followed the news around crypto for the past few months, an issue that has repeatedly been brought up is the environmental impact of cryptocurrencies - with Bitcoin bearing the brunt of the criticism. Though often brushed aside by crypto enthusiasts - it is a valid concern and something that needs addressing moving forward.
Algorand is leading the charge for being a highly energy-efficient network, that is a gold standard for blockchain sustainability. Algorand is aiming to be the best and most efficient blockchain on the market and is currently fully carbon neutral. Further still they are aiming to be carbon negative, and want to positively impact the environment.
How are they achieving this goal?
1) Proof-of-Stake - From it's conception, the creator of Algorand (Silvio Micali) wanted to create a blockchain network that would have a positive effect on the environment. Therefore, it was designed as a pure proof-of-stake blockchain since this method requires minimal computational power and therefore will not have enormous electricity demands. In fact:
"Compared to other blockchains, digital asset creation and transactions on Algorand result in magnitudes less CO2 emissions, with initial analysis demonstrating around 2 million times less."
Creating and transacting on the Algorand network is incredibly energy efficient, especially compared to other blockchains. The proof-of-stake method doesn't require mining at all, as it is based on consensus. The power consumption is also going down and getting upgraded throughout the year, while the TPS will increase from 1,000 to 10,000. Therefore, it will continue being efficient the larger it grows.
2) ClimateTrade Partnership - This is one of their most recent efforts to not only be carbon-neutral, but to become carbon-negative and have a net positive affect on the environment. This is a company that helps other companies and networks achieve their goal of becoming eco-friendly. They essentially help Algorand with their goal by offsetting their carbon footprint by selecting carbon credits that will fund climate projects from around the world. Some of the projects are seen in the below image:
The Algorand Foundation has the following to say about the partnership:
"To achieve a carbon-negative network, Algorand and ClimateTrade will implement a sustainability oracle which will notarize Algorand’s carbon footprint on-chain for each epoch (a set amount of blocks). With its advanced smart contracts, Algorand will then lock the equivalent amount of carbon credit as an ASA (Algorand Standard Asset) into a green treasury so that its protocol keeps running as carbon-negative."
Algorand is also involved with a further two projects by the name of PlanetWatch and Global Carbon Holding. This is one of the reasons why I believe Algorand is a great project and a bright future. It is ahead of the game on the sustainibilty aspect and it aims to keep on improving to achieve a net positive impact on both the environment and society in general.
Obviously there are many great projects out there to choose from, but Algorand is one that is very easy to get behind and support due to how they conduct themselves and their plan for a sustainable blockchain.
You can find more information on this subject on their website, specifically:
https://www.algorand.com/resources/blog/how-algorand-offsets-carbon-footprint
https://www.algorand.com/resources/news/carbon_negative_announcement
Algorand has a bright future and will hopefully influence other projects to become much more sustainable for the future by leading the way and shoing that it's possible.
Thank you for reading.
