Ripple Co-founder and Greenpeace join forces to campaign for a greener Bitcoin
Bitcoin is the world’s most popular cryptocurrency, but not everyone is a fan of its energy use. It takes massive amounts of electricity to mine it, and the energy use is the main reason why the price of bitcoin has been so volatile.
Bitcoin became the largest digital currency in the world in January 2018. In October 2016, co-founder of the world’s largest digital currency, Mike Hearn, announced that the company was shutting down the cryptocurrency.
He explained the reasons behind this decision by citing the massive amount of energy consumed by the Bitcoin, both by the miners who are rewarded for mining Bitcoins and by the network itself. However, in July 2017, the company announced that it would be re-launching the cryptocurrency.
Why heading towards Greener Bitcoin?
Ripple co-founder Chris Larsen and the world’s largest environmentalist organization, Greenpeace, have teamed up to campaign for a greener Bitcoin.
According to Ripple, the blockchain is the foundation of the digital currency, but it’s also the foundation of a revolution that could change the way the world does business.
Greenpeace cites concerns that the energy required to mine Bitcoin comes mostly from fossil fuels, and that miners are using coal waste and associated natural gas as ways to fuel their operations.
Greenpeace accepted Bitcoin donations for seven years between 2014 and May 2021 before announcing it was halting acceptance of Bitcoin donations, citing environmental concerns. Around the same time, Tesla CEO Elon Musk stopped accepting Bitcoin payments for Tesla vehicles also.
Conclusion
Ripple and Greenpeace have joined forces to campaign for a greener Bitcoin, which they say will be more environmentally friendly, by using only renewable energy and reducing carbon emissions.
The cryptocurrency industry is notorious for its use of unsustainable energy from non-renewable sources. As it is a relatively new industry, Ripple is taking the lead in making the switch to sustainable energy. The company has already achieved significant reductions in energy consumption by using Bitcoin mining to reward other cryptocurrency users.
