Ethereum’s new upgrade is supposed to decrease its energy usage
Author: Tech Desk
For the uninitiated, Blockchain is a digital distributed database, which records every transaction, making every transaction transparent and immutable, meaning that it cannot be changed or modified. And there are different kinds of Blockchains available depending on usage. The two major blockchains used for transaction is Bitcoin and Ethereum. Bitcoin Blockchain is fast, secure and robust but is extremely expensive. On the other hand, Ether is cost-effective, but is slower as compared to Bitcoin. There is one thing here in common - both of the blockchains consume a lot of energy. According to Digiconomist, Ethereum consumes about 112 terawatt-hours of electricity per year, which is comparable to that of Netherlands and more than what Philippines or Pakistan use. A single transaction on Ethereum is equivalent to the power consumption of an average US household over 9 days.
A single Ethereum transaction also equals the energy consumption of more than 1,50,000 VISA card transactions. Bitcoin is worse. It consumes about 137 terawatt-hours of electricity per year