Blockchain can be used for sustainability | Information age

Monash to investigate the use of the blockchain for sustainability. Photo: Shutterstock

A Monash University-led consortium of blockchain researchers will explore new interdisciplinary blockchain applications after securing a share of A$72 million ($50 million) in funding from the blockchain sustainability-focused Algorand Foundation.

Designed to promote the development of applications for what it calls a “carbon-negative Layer 1 blockchain,” the Algorand Centers of Excellence (ACE) program is a cornerstone of Singapore-based Algorand’s efforts to find more energy-efficient ways to implement blockchain-based solutions that utilize technology’s security, transparency and verifiability.

Around 77 proposals for ACE funding were received from 550 participants in 46 countries, with winners selected by a multidisciplinary international panel of 27 experts.

It made for an “incredibly difficult” selection process, said Algorand Foundation principal investigator and head of the ACE program Dr Hugo Krawczyk when announcing the winners, “but we’re delighted to see how many bright, talented people around the world recognize the ability. of blockchain technology to fundamentally change and improve the world we live in.”

Recipients will establish Algorand Centers of Excellence research and education hubs on their campuses, supporting a range of activities, including interdisciplinary blockchain and cryptocurrency research, as well as university courses, hackathons and accelerators; development of real solutions, applications and use cases; social impact and sustainability projects based on blockchain technology; and expansion of the Algorand community.

The grant, which will fund a five-year regional project called Sustainability Informatics for the Pacific, will be led by Monash University’s Blockchain Technology Center (MBTC) with support from dozens of researchers at the University of Queensland, the University of Sydney, Swinburne University of Technology, the University of Fiji, University of the South Pacific, Hong Kong Polytechnic University and Melbourne-based Oceania Cyber ​​Security Center and ClimateWorks Centre.

Support from a number of research partners will give the program significant momentum, said MBTC CEO Dr Joseph Liu Information age.

“They are our long-term partners,” he said, “and we understand that they have a very strong ability to deliver implementation of blockchain applications. We are a team made up of truly interdisciplinary areas.”

MBTC’s ongoing research work includes the development of algorithms capable of maintaining data security and privacy in the age of quantum decryption, the use of blockchain to provide verifiable academic credentials, blockchain interoperability, deepfake detection, and the development of hack-resistant RepuCoin cryptocurrency infrastructure.

With partners across a range of technical and artistic disciplines, the ACE-supported projects will cast a wide net, including work around non-fungible tokens (NFTs), clean water, agricultural supply chains and climate change.

This includes possible projects such as building a blockchain-backed carbon trading system that would allow companies or individuals to claim carbon credits for environmentally friendly activities – and buy the credits if their carbon emissions are too high.

“In this way, everyone — not just big companies — can participate in this carbon credit trading,” Liu said.

“Algorand wants people to know that blockchain technology is not just for cryptocurrency or investment, but that it is also for the general social good and sustainability.

“Australia is part of the Pacific family and I believe we have a responsibility to use this technology to provide sustainability throughout the region.”

Greening the blockchain

The funding comes as new figures confirm the significant environmental toll blockchain and cryptocurrency are taking on the world’s energy supplies.

For example, a new CryptoMonday analysis found that mining just one Bitcoin uses as much electricity as it would take to power an average household for nine years.

Bitcoin alone is estimated to consume around 91.1 terawatt-hours per year, according to the Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index – more than all of Finland.

The “proof of work”-based protocol is 11 times more power-intensive than alternative cryptocurrencies such as Ethereum – and individual transactions use hundreds of thousands of times more power than a typical Visa credit card transaction.

“Conceptually, Bitcoin mining doesn’t seem like it should require huge amounts of energy,” said CryptoMonday CEO Jonathan Merry, “but the process is actually quite energy intensive.”

Bitcoin miners “need to use increasingly powerful computers to stay ahead of the competition,” he said. “The sheer amount of energy required to run these computers is one of the biggest obstacles to profitability in Bitcoin mining.”

Bitcoin’s power hit was one of the reasons Elon Musk cited for reversing a previous policy that allowed customers to pay for Tesla vehicles using cryptocurrency; and reiterating the point, the automaker also recently dumped 75 percent of its Bitcoin holdings.

Taking advantage of the low-power design of the Algorand blockchain will be at the heart of the work being done under the ACE grant – and Liu’s team is already working around the technology, having launched a partnership with the Algorand Foundation last December to explore MBTC research interests .

“Algorand is a more advanced blockchain system that uses ‘proof of stake,'” Liu explained. “It is very efficient and does not need to use a lot of power to provide security.

“We need to educate not only our students, but also people in our community, to understand that blockchain can be good for our environment.”