One of the biggest problems of the Bitcoin network is the amount of energy it consumes. However, according to Ripple’s co-founder named Chris Larsen, there might be a solution.
How could the Bitcoin network use less energy?
Chris Larsen, the co-founder of Ripple, has proposed an ingenious method to significantly reduce the power consumption of the Bitcoin network. He notes that the only way to transition to a low-energy consensus can be achieved through a change in the network’s code. Not everyone is happy about that. Indeed, it is agreed that such a change would significantly disrupt the nature of the Bitcoin network.
“The least disruptive proposal would simply take a snapshot of the current hash rate of existing miners and then reward miners on a pro-rata hash power basis until 2140,” Larsen said in his Medium post. “Existing miners would simply have the rights to future bitcoin rewards without having to make additional investments in mining platforms.”
According to Larsen, his proposal is fair because it rewards miners for their efforts to secure the Bitcoin network over the years with less operating costs. For better network security, Larsen writes that the proposal can be modified to include a staking mechanism.
While miners may not support the transition from Proof-of-Work, the solution from Ripple’s co-founder does suggest they can still get their rewards without spending a fortune on energy costs.
The counter arguments
Since the co-founder of Ripple made his idea public, there has been a wave of criticism over the proposal. For example, Bitcoin fans told that Proof-of-Work makes Bitcoin unique and safe. A Proof of Stake consensus is absolutely not safe according to the Bitcoin maximalists.
It is of course highly unlikely that Larsen’s proposal will be implemented, but it is never wrong to think about energy-saving measures.
–
