How Much Energy are We Talking?
Buildings used to house cryptocurrency mining can create a massive strain on local electricity grids, with a single crypto transaction consuming more energy than that required to power 6 houses for a day in the U.S. The estimated global annual energy consumption of the current cryptocurrency market is over 68 TWh, equivalent to more than 19 coal fired power plants operating continuously. Due to the technical nature of blockchain, this number is projected to grow to 100 TWh annually.
WAYS to increase the sustainability of cryptocurrency
Consider Different Algorithms: Rather than continuing to iterate on existing proof of work algorithms, other consensus algorithms exist which require less compute power, including proof of authority and proof of stake. Both alternatives have the potential to use less energy than current blockchain methodology.
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Patchcoin runs on proof-of-stake consensus, using a fraction of the energy of proof-of-work protocols.