Cryptocurrency ethereum plans to cut carbon emissions by 99% with upgrade

Ethereum, the second largest cryptocurrency, will complete a plan to lower its carbon emissions by more than 99% in the next month, the foundation that controls the platform has confirmed.

The energy consumption of ethereum mining is currently estimated at about 72 terawatt-hours a year, according to Alex de Vries, a Dutch economist who runs the Digiconomist website. That is comparable with the power consumption of Colombia, with a carbon footprint equivalent to that of Switzerland.

The final stages of the merge are expected to begin on 6 September, the foundation said, with the old blockchain switched off at some point between 10 and 20 September.

Ethereum will not be the first network to use proof of stake, and others including cardano and solana have demonstrated the technology at a smaller scale. But its switchover will leave bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency, facing renewed criticism for its continued reliance on proof of work.

The bitcoin network uses 130TWh of electricity a year, De Vries estimates, a sum that will be increasingly difficult to defend if the ethereum blockchain demonstrates that the same capabilities can be achieved in an environmentally friendly manner.