In a recent release, Ripple’s Chief Technical Officer David Schwart proclaimed that XRP is 57000 times better than the pioneer cryptocurrency token Bitcoin in terms of its sustainability for the planet earth.
Schwartz compared the proof-of-work behind Bitcoin and Consensus mechanism which XRP uses, and explained that Bitcoin could power 4.51 billion lightbulbs hours for every one million transactions, on the contrary, XRP, with the same amount of transaction, could power 79,000 light bulbs hours, this, in the CTO’s words, is evident that XRP’s energy consumption is 57,000 times better than that of Bitcoin.
Schwartz in the report said many tries to avoid compliance to environmental sustainability, but the effect could be shockingly profound. The CTO further said that most forms of currencies, be it fiat or cryptocurrency, are not eco-friendly and their long-term impact is very consequential to the planet earth.
Proof-of-work (Pow) is the mechanism or algorithm found in most blockchain networks. It is the most common consensus mechanism for implementing cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin uses the proof-of-work algorithm to validate transactions and create new token through mining, this process, Schwartz said it energy-intensive.
The Proof-of-work mining algorithm poses a lot of burden on power resources by consuming more computational power and energy. Averagely, to mine Bitcoin with one application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), the device commands an environmental cost of $1,500 per year, and it could be higher depending on the miners activity.
XRP Ledger is sustainable for the planet. CTO Schwartz explains that the XRP Ledger makes use of a unique Consensus mechanism that exhausts a meager amount of energy. He reiterated that the mechanism used digital asset XRP helps solve the double-spend problem which is an impediment for Bitcoin.
Schwartz however pointed out that of all the currencies in existence, be it fiat or crypto, none is 100% eco-friendly. He elucidated that one of the ideas behind the introduction of cryptocurrency was to eradicate some negative effects of fiat on the environment, however, some crypto assets still fall within this realm.
The Ripple boss quoted a 2018 research that explored the yearly energy consumption of Ireland to solidify his take about Bitcoin’s proof of work mining. The research reported that several hundred thousand computers that work 24 hours a day to mine Bitcoin consume 1.5 times the amount of energy consumed in the Irish nation yearly.
