A look at the greenest blockchains in 2022

Fortunately, growing concern among developers and investors regarding this issue has led to the development of several eco-friendly crypto projects and initiatives. In this article, we will highlight some of the green crypto networks of 2022 and how they can affect the future of blockchain and our environment.

Ethereum after merger

Earlier this year, Ethereum switched from the proof-of-work (PoW) consensus algorithm to the proof-of-stake (PoS) algorithm through a process known as The Merge. The PoW algorithm requires miners to perform complex computational tasks to validate transactions and create new blocks on the blockchain. This process uses a significant amount of energy, which can be very harmful to the environment.

PoS algorithms, on the other hand, do not use such energy-intensive processes, instead requiring users to “stake” their tokens as collateral to validate transactions. This can significantly reduce energy consumption and minimize the network’s carbon footprint.

The merger was one of the most sought-after events in blockchain history and was successfully completed on September 15 without any glitches or obstacles. Due to this upgrade, Ethereum, one of the busiest blockchains in the world, reduced its energy consumption by 99.95 percent.

Polygon and its carbon neutral mission

Polygon runs on a proof-of-stake consensus mechanism, which makes it quite eco-friendly to begin with. Also, it is a layer-2 blockchain built on the Ethereum network. Therefore, the carbon footprint would also have reduced significantly after the Ethereum merger.

In fact, the Crypto Carbon Ratings Institute (CCRI) indicated that Polygon’s annual carbon emissions dropped to 56.22 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e) after the Ethereum merger. That is a massive reduction of 99.92 percent from the annual emissions before amalgamation of 94,782 tCO2e.

Additionally, the blockchain also launched a mission to become carbon neutral by the end of 2022. The initiative was announced in April this year, with the blockchain setting aside $20 million to offset its carbon footprint.

Those efforts paid off when Polygon reached carbon neutrality in June, retiring $400,000 worth of carbon credits. Through the move, Polygon effectively offset 104,794 tonnes of greenhouse gases, the network’s entire CO2 debt since inception. The network has also entered into collaboration with KlimaDAO and Offsetra to analyze the emissions and create better carbon management systems. Finally, Polygon also plans to help environmentally-focused NGOs in their efforts to become the first climate-positive blockchain in the world.

Algorand — the world’s first carbon-negative blockchain

Algorand was always kind to the planet. The network bills itself as the world’s first carbon-negative blockchain and was developed to have minimal impact on the environment. For example, it uses a unique, pure proof-of-stake (PPoS) consensus mechanism that results in 120 million times less CO2 emissions than Bitcoin for every transaction initiated and digital asset created.

In April this year, it also implemented the first “green” smart contract that will automatically set aside a percentage of each transaction fee to offset carbon emissions. In addition, the network also uses a “verifiable random function” (VRF) to randomly select the validators that will create new blocks. This ensures that the network is secure and decentralized without requiring a large amount of computing power.

It also uses a “relay-based” architecture, which allows transactions to be processed off-chain and reduces the load (and energy consumption) on the main blockchain. Overall, the combination of the PPoS consensus algorithm and these additional features make Algorand an energy-efficient blockchain platform.

Solana, another carbon neutral blockchain

In January of this year, CCRI released a report stating that Solana was the most energy efficient PoS network among Ethereum killers, Cardano, Polkadot, Avalanche, Algorand and Tezos. According to the CCRI study, Solana uses 0.166 watt-hours (Wh) of electricity per transaction, equivalent to the energy consumption of two Google searches, while being much lower than Bitcoin’s 1,722.24 kWh per transaction.

In addition, the blockchain also has several environmental initiatives in place to reduce the effect of greenhouse gases on the planet. For example, in December 2021, the blockchain announced that it would fund a process called coolant destruction. This will result in the permanent destruction of CFC and HFC refrigerants throughout 2022. These greenhouse gases are 10,000 times stronger than CO2.

The blockchain also publishes quarterly reports that describe the network’s energy consumption and the measures it plans to implement in the future. In its latest energy usage report, Solana announced two new initiatives to reduce energy consumption: Compressed NFTs and doubling the transaction size.

Compressed NFTs allow up to 10 NFTs to be embossed at once, thus reducing energy consumption. On the other hand, doubling the transaction size will result in less computing power used for a given set of transactions.

Tron – a network that uses 99.99 percent less energy than BTC and ETH

In August, CCRI published a report highlighting TRON as one of the most environmentally friendly blockchains in the world. According to the report, the network consumed only 162,868 kWh of electricity in 2021, which is 99.9 percent less than Bitcoin and Ethereum. One of the main reasons for this is Tron’s delegated proof-of-stake (DPoS) consensus algorithm, which is considered more energy efficient than proof-of-work (PoW) algorithms.

Conclusion

Blockchain and crypto projects are becoming increasingly aware of their environmental impact. This has driven several networks to implement green initiatives and look for ways to reduce their carbon footprint. Hopefully, these developments will help blockchains and cryptocurrencies shrug off the “environmentally harmful” tag they’ve been given over the years.