Top blockchain networks, including Bitcoin and Ethereum, are known for their high electricity consumption, a topic well-discussed amongst crypto critics. However, the latest report by the Crypto Carbon Ratings Institute revealed some of the chains that consume the least amount of electricity, including Ethereum’s rival Polkadot.
Polkadot, an open-source multichain protocol, was praised after researchers from the Crypto Carbon Ratings Institute touted it as the network with the lowest total electricity consumption and total carbon emissions per year.
The study included research on six blockchains, Ethereum, Solana, Cardano, Algorand, Avalanche, Polkadot, and Tezos, that utilize the proof-of-stake consensus mechanism to validate the transactions. Amongst them, Solana was revealed to use the least electricity per transaction and Cardano used the least energy per node.
Coming back to Polkadot, researchers found that the multi-chain protocol exhausts just about 6.6 times the electricity the average US household uses in a year. The figure is significantly small compared to Ethereum, which consumes about 1.6 million times the electricity when put on the same pedestal. The report noted:
“An average US household consumes about 10,600 kWh per year and therefore, the least electricity consuming network Polkadot consumes about 6.6 times the electricity and the most electricity consuming network Solana about 200 times the electricity.”
It added:
In comparison to the decentralized cryptocurrency Bitcoin, PoS networks consume less than 0.001 % of the Bitcoin network assuming 89.78 TWh on the 21st August 2021 (CBECI, 2021).”
In conclusion, the report highlighted that while PoS networks consume comparatively less electricity than PoW networks like Bitcoin, they are, at the same time, accountable for their environmental footprints. It, thus, called for an extensive perspective of corporate footprints and the ecosystem.
Polkadot’s native token DOT was trading at $22.24 at press time, rallying by nearly 4% from the previous day. The network recently allocated over $20 million in DOT to boost development in its ecosystem and web 3.0 area.
