Energy concerns over Bitcoin’s Proof of Work mining are justified, according to Buterin to CNN, It’s not the sort of thing that’s going to break the world by itself, but it’s definitely a significant downside, because the resource consumption is definitely huge.
Through the forthcoming transition to ETH 2.0. Ethereum is in the process of moving from PoW to a Proof-of-Stake, or PoS consensus algorithm, with Nimbus estimating PoS to be up to 99% more energy efficient, It will dramatically decrease Ethereum’s energy consumption.
“We go from consuming the same energy as a medium-sized country to consuming the same energy as a village, “ according to Buterin when emphasizing the importance of transition.
Buterin added that the power consumption of Bitcoin mining and the hardware required would see increasing calls from its community to either switch to PoS, or move towards a hybrid.
“If Bitcoin sticks with its technology exactly as it is today, there’s a big risk it will get left behind.”
While that call will undoubtedly be controversial, Bitcoiners may welcome Buterin’s assessment of Musk’s Twitter antics. He noted that this is a relatively new phenomenon in the crypto space, and Musk’s influence will wane over time. “I think it’s reasonable to expect a bit of craziness,” he said. “But I do think that the markets will learn. Elon is not going to have this influence forever.”