Will Ethereum's Carbon Footprint Reduction Drive The ETH Value Higher? • CryptoM...

Stagnating in the cryptocurrency and blockchain industry is never a viable option. Ethereum, the primary blockchain ecosystem for decentralized development, is looking to introduce some big changes. one such change is a significant reduction in carbon footprint, creating an exciting debate among supporters and opponents. 

Reducing The Ethereum Carbon Footprint

There have been numerous debates over how cryptocurrency mining is bad for the environment. Despite the use of specialized hardware, there is still a significant carbon footprint in terms of electricity usage. Although – in bitcoin’s case-  most electricity comes from renewable sources, the debate remains active. For Ethereum, there is a very similar debate, as its network relies on Proof-of-Work mining too. 

Although this system has been in place for years, the developers want to change the narrative. The long-awaited Ethereum 2.0 upgrade will replace Proof-of-Work with Proof-of-Stake. A significant reduction in carbon footprint, reducing energy costs by close to 100%. Introducing such a change will remove the need for mines altogether and empower the individual users who hold Ether to validate transactions on the network.

Unfortunately, reducing the carbon footprint through such an upgrade is no easy feat. The Ethereum 2.0 rollout has been pushed back multiple times. Even today, there is no official release date or ETA for the upgrade. It is a very painstaking process with lots of variables and intricacies. Rolling the upgrade out in stages is a viable approach, yet it also means users might have to wait months – if not years – to see the network upgrade achieve completion. 

Vitalik Buterin told Bloomberg how this transition to proof-of-stake is an essential move. As cryptocurrency interest grows, it becomes more essential to address concerns people may have. The upgrade will also introduce other benefits beyond reducing the carbon footprint reduction. Addressing scalability issues in the blockchain world remains a pressing problem, yet Buterin is confident Ethereum will crack the code relatively easily. 

ESG Price Impact?

One aspect no one can ignore is the ESG standards discussion. ESG stands for positive environmental, social, and governance values among millennials and investors. Adhering to such standards may prove essential for blockchain networks like Ethereum to remain successful. Bitcoin may never fully adhere to ESG standards and maintain its carbon footprint “perception” for many years to come. 

For an ecosystem with a strong focus on decentralized finance and applications, having a carbon footprint is almost unacceptable. Investors and users flock to Ethereum because of its possibilities. Moreover, some analysts expect this change to proof-of-Stake will allow Ether to gain more market share over Bitcoin. A “flippening” will prove challenging to accomplish, but a future ETH price rise remains in the cards. 

All of this doesn’t mean Ethereum will not use electricity and hardware to secure its network. The change to proof-of-Stake will require network nodes. Those nodes run on computers or servers, which will still have an environmental impact. However, reducing the energy usage by as much as nearly 100% will prove beneficial in the long run. For now, the crucial infrastructure is in place, but the code is still being tested and tweaked. A rollout before late 2021 or even early 2022 seems virtually impossible at this stage. 

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