Decentralized Blockchain Chia Network Wants to Boost Mining Sustainability

Chia Network, a tech firm based out of San Francisco, is working to bring a complete revolution to the way that we mine cryptocurrencies. The firm recently published a green paper which detailed an environmentally-friendly means of mining digital assets. Primarily, the paper detailed the utilization of two new techniques- which is called proof-of-time and proof-of-space- and how these could develop a “Nakamoto-style” consensus algorithm on the Chia blockchain. 

The paper detailed, “Instead of using proofs of work, Chia alternates proofs of space with verifiable delay functions. This results in a chain than in many aspects is similar to Bitcoin, in particular, as in Bitcoin no synchronization is needed and we can prove rigorous security guarantees assuming a sufficient fraction of the resource (space in Chia, computation in Bitcoin) is controlled by honest parties.”

It claims that “farming” would be used to replace the conventional mining; a process where proof-of-space or proof-of-time could be used to replace the proof-of-work (PoW) consensus verification system used by popular cryptocurrencies like the ones kept in a bitcoin wallets.

The entire concept was developed by Bram Cohen, the CEO of Chia, and creator of BitTorrent. In an interview with TechCrunch about two years ago, the tech mogul had claimed that he was working with the goal of creating a “better Bitcoin” which would go on to solve some of Bitcoin’s decentralization issues. 

Of course, success with this could help with the universally-acknowledged concerns over the environmental sustainability of cryptocurrencies in general. On June 12, the Joule journal published a report which revealed that the energy emissions generated by Bitcoin were comparable to those of a small nation. 

It could also provide a much better way for prospective cryptocurrency developers to develop their assets. It’s a sign that the conventional mining technique isn’t the best, and as opposed to just speaking, cryptocurrency developers can now take a proactive role in staying eco-friendly.

It is also worth pointing out that Bitcoin mining difficulty is on the rise, due in large part to the profitability of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Many people have chosen mining instead of the option to buy cryptocurrency, and an influx of miners would mean that the already large carbon footprint that Bitcoin mining has become considerably larger. 

However, there’s the problem of whether the thousands- or perhaps even millions- of miners all over the world will be willing to dump Bitcoin, even with its obvious mining issues. Pretty much every altcoin comes into the market intending to present a better alternative to Bitcoin, but so far, they’ve all had to settle for their place behind the world’s top digital asset. 

Besides, the proposed digital asset would have to come up with something better than environmental sustainability if it hopes to best Bitcoin. Despite the worsening effects on the environment and increased mining difficulty, miners are trooping into Bitcoin in their droves. 

You’d think that if they really cared about the environment, they would have eased off the activity a little bit.