Cryptocurrencies have emerged in investing world as a revolutionary change and gained immense popularity because of their ability to soar or make one rich.

Advantages of Cryptocurrency

Decentralization: It acts as a major advantage in the case of cryptocurrencies. Decentralization helps the creators or developers who release the coins in the market to own a certain percent of the coin thus having control over the trends of the coin and avoiding monopoly.

Secure: Cryptocurrencies are extremely secure because the blockchain is created on difficult
mathematical puzzles thus making it hard to decode and hack into.

Environmental effect of Crypto Mining

Came to no one’s notice initially but cryptocurrencies like bitcoin consume a lot of electricity thus indirectly affecting nature. Bitcoin especially consumes about 91 terawatt hours of electricity annually which rounds about to half a percent of electricity consumed in the world and has been increasing day by day.

Viable Solutions

There seem to exist “altcoins”, which are less lethal to the environment. They differentiate from traditional coins based on the process or technology of creation. Also, they differ by the process of the entire transaction.

Bitcoin uses “proof of work” protocol which is power exhausting, while “altcoins” like Ethereum use “proof of stake” protocol which takes into account the environmental effects.

Scientists are working on methods to reduce the power consumption to mine cryptocurrencies. Scientists from 3M have been able to devise cooling technologies for data centers.