From Newsgroup: alt.bitcoins

*One of the most influential cryptocurrency projects is set to finally
ditch proof-of-work mining.*

CRYPTOCURRENCIES ARE OFTEN criticized for being bad for the planet.
Every year, bitcoin mining consumes more energy than Belgium, according
to the University of Cambridge’s Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index. Ethereum’s consumption is usually pegged at roughly a third of
Bitcoin’s, even if estimates vary. Although some 39 percent of the
energy going into bitcoin mining comes from renewable sources,
according to a 2020 Cambridge report, the industry’s carbon footprint
is generally regarded as unacceptable. According to a 2019 study,
bitcoin mining belches out between 22 and 22.9 million metric tons of
CO2 every year.

The problem is that specialized computers powered by eye-popping
amounts of electricity are needed to process and verify transactions of cryptocurrencies like bitcoin or Ethereum’s ether on blockchains, via a process called proof-of-work mining. In this system, thousands of
computers all over the world (but mostly in the US, China, Kazakhstan,
and Russia) vie with each other to solve a mathematical puzzle and earn
the privilege of appending a batch of transactions, or “block,” to the ledger. The miner who prevails wins a crypto reward.

Most Bitcoin advocates will tell you that proof-of-work mining is
essential to keep the network secure, and would never dream of
tampering with something first conceived by the currency’s pseudonymous creator, Satoshi Nakamoto. But Ethereum is on the verge of a monumental
change that will substantially reduce its environmental impact.

Ethereum, launched in 2015 by a 21-year-old whiz kid named Vitalik
Buterin, is about to swap proof-of-work mining for an alternative
system known as proof of stake, which does not require energy-guzzling computers. The Ethereum Foundation, a research nonprofit that
spearheads updates and ameliorations to the Ethereum blockchain, says
the shift will reduce the network’s energy consumption by 99.5 percent.
The big switcheroo is known as the Merge—and it is slated to take place
on September 14.
(continue)...

https://www.wired.com/story/ethereum-merge-big-deal-crypto-environment/
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