Proof of Energy Use - The Daily Gwei #402
To Pow or not to PoW?
At this point I’m sure you’re all well aware of just how much hate the crypto ecosystem gets over the amount of energy it uses. This is especially apparent when you read the talking points from NFT detractors - they will always include something about Ethereum’s enormous energy use. Though what I’m most looking forward to - and what has been a long-time coming - is Ethereum’s switch to Proof of Stake (‘The Merge’) which will cut the network’s energy consumption down by a massive 99%.
The page linked above is an excellent resource to send to anyone who asks you about Ethereum’s energy use - it’s simple, straight-forward, provides the facts and gives useful analogies for the everyday person to relate to. This is how we win the fight against these bad narratives - not with malice or hate - but with understanding, education and building. Of course, there are many people out there who don’t want to understand nor be educated, but I think once Ethereum’s move to PoS is complete these people will come around eventually.
Once Ethereum switches to PoS the only large remaining PoW network will be Bitcoin - and the Bitcoin community has many battles to fight here over the coming years. I don’t think it’s necessarily a bad thing though - the Bitcoin community likes PoW and thinks that it’s more secure than PoS - so they should be willing to fight for it’s continued existence. But also on the flip side, these fights kind of feel like a losing battle given the fact that climate change is on everyone’s mind and the layperson does not differentiate between Bitcoin and other networks on fundamentals - only on narratives.
I personally don’t have a strong stance for or against PoW - I just think that Ethereum PoS is a better designed mechanism for securing a blockchain. Of course, there are also holy wars fought over this almost every day in the crypto ecosystem and I don’t think they are going to stop anytime soon. Though Ethereans have been waiting 7 years for PoS and we believe that the Ethereum ecosystem has created the best implementation of it whereas Bitcoiners consider PoS a “rich get richer” scheme and adore PoW. Obviously these two communities are never going to see eye to eye but the good news is that we all get to witness two grand experiments playing out.
Regardless of what either community thinks, I believe that the narrative around PoW is only going to get worse. With climate change on everyone’s minds and Bitcoin not really providing value to most of the planet (yet?), it becomes a very easy target to point to as an example of excessive energy use - it doesn’t even matter if it’s accurate or not. This is why I always say that you can’t win a narrative war - you just have to out-build the narratives.
Have a great day everyone,
Anthony Sassano
Enjoyed today’s piece? I send out a fresh one every week day - be sure to subscribe to receive it in your inbox!
Join the Daily Gwei Ecosystem
All information presented above is for educational purposes only and should not be taken as investment advice.