Ethereum’s Merge Cuts Down Worldwide Energy Consumption by 0.2%

• Ethereum Merge will cut down global energy consumption by 0.2%.
• ETH used to consume almost as much energy as the Netherlands.
• The altcoin currently accounts for 20% of the entire crypto market.

After the Merge, Vitalik Buterin, the creator of Ethereum, quoted Drake Justin saying that this would result in a reduction of around 0.2% in the amount of energy that is used all over the globe.

The world’s second most valuable cryptocurrency used to absorb as much electricity as the nation of the Netherlands. The altcoins also used to absorb much more energy than the countries of Venezuela, Chile, Austria, and Israel.

Prior to the Merge, Ethereum relied on a system called Proof-of-Work (PoW), in which computers from all over the globe competed against one another to solve complex riddles and earn the right to add a new block to the chain.

The fact that all of these miners were vying against each other to solve the complex riddle at the same time was a fairly wasteful use of energy, since only one of them could prevail and the rest of the energy was being squandered.

In stark contrast, the Proof-of-Stake utilizes validators that have risked some of their Ethereum by using it as collateral. Should they choose to act inappropriately, they will forfeit the Ethereum that they have staked.

Furthermore, ahead of the Merge, Ethereum gained market share from Bitcoin, and it currently accounts for around twenty percent of the whole cryptocurrency market, which is valued at one trillion dollars. After reaching a high point of 47.5% in the middle of June, Bitcoin’s share has since fallen to its current level of 39.1%.