Will blockchain technology be good for the planet? I’ve been asking people about that and the first impression is that it will be incredibly wasteful using networks of computers to redundantly verify transactions for cryptocurrencies, nonfungible tokens (NFTs), and ultimately the metaverse. The second impression is that it could be a lot less wasteful shifting to cryptocurrency than relying on our current financial system. I talked about this with one of the experts in the field, and we delved into these myths on a more factual level.
Kiayias is chief scientist at Input Output, a blockchain engineering company. It’s the driving force behind the Cardano blockchain, which is a third-generation cryptocurrency, which tries to improve on second-generation cryptocurrencies such as Ethereum and first-generation cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin.
A decentralized cryptocurrency keeps track of all transactions by all addresses on a peer-to-peer shared record. One of Cardano’s innovations is the ability to support high-transaction capacities, fast transaction times, and low transaction fees, through a system of proof-of-stake. Cardano is not minable. The blockchain is a record of all transactions, but rather than validation by anyone who performs the proof-of-work, transactions are validated by consensus proof-of-stake. This is also far more environmentally friendly than mining other cryptocurrencies, as they are not using enormous amounts of electricity.