Can Crypto Rewards Go Green? 6 Eco-Friendly Cryptocurrencies to Watch Out For

One oft-repeated criticism of cryptocurrency is that running a lot of computers to generate Bitcoins isn’t great for green living. But did you know many cryptocurrencies and crypto rewards systems are eco-friendly and help with environmental causes? 

Besides generating more income and more business in general, cryptocurrency is helping to save the world in a few different ways. 

In this article, we’re going to discuss the green side of cryptocurrency – and a few facts you probably haven’t heard yet.

Blockchain Companies Use and Generate Green Energy

While everyone is worried about growing electricity consumption, few companies are doing much about the problem – except many blockchain-based businesses! 

Some companies that use 100% green energy include HIVE Blockchain Technologies, Tezos, Algorand, and Solar Coin, which use a variety of green technologies, from a local hydropower plant to solar powered energy. 

Meanwhile, companies like Powerledger have started a platform which can best be explained as peer-to-peer energy – a decentralized network that lets users interact on a grid. They can track, trace, and trade energy live through with POWER crypto coins. 

Read more about solar power incentives in this related article. 

Crypto Rewards Are Being Given to Green Homeowners

We have no choice but to build more houses…but what if we could make our houses green-friendly? The Rhode Island House of Representatives is proposing to incentivize green home projects, by giving builders rewards in crypto. 

If homeowners could reduce the home’s carbon footprint and utility costs, the state may start awarding over $500 million in crypto rewards to qualifying homeowners, money donated by the state as well as local banks.

What if you’re not a qualifying homeowner? Can you still get rewards in crypto? Of course! You can apply for a SoFi credit card and get crypto cashback points. 

Crypto and Low Electricity Usage

What if a company could use less energy in creating new crypto coins? Companies like Nano are generating crypto without even using traditional mining techniques. The company uses a more efficient energy model called Block Lattice Technology. 

In this scenario, the company uses an account chain for all of its users, and account holders simply vote for a representative who confirms the series of block transactions. This eliminates the simultaneous operation of multiple users updating the blockchain in real time. 

Proof of Stake – The More Efficient Protocol

While many crypto companies are associated with the high-energy consumption “proof of work” model, newer crypto companies are investing in “Proof of Stake.”

This system of setting transactions is built differently. Miners don’t race each other as with the Bitcoin generation, which involves solving puzzles and validating transactions. 

Rather, with a Point of Stake system, miners are selected by an algorithm and must simply validate transactions. This proof-of-ownership model uses far fewer hardware resources than the traditional Proof of Work model. 

The Crypto Community Comes Together

There is such growing collaboration in the new age crypto community that there is even a Crypto Climate Accord agreement, which is an initiative backed by numerous companies that want to help decarbonize the industry’s footprint. 

Over 250 companies have joined the initiative and have focused on common goals to reduce electricity consumption and eventually achieve net-zero emissions within the next decade. Read more about the Crypto Climate Accord organization!

Converting Crypto Currency to Batteries?

Some have theorized that crypto coins could function as a virtual battery. That is, in the sense that a coin’s value could represent locally stored solar and wind power. This intermittently stored power would be traded as a worldwide digital asset as if turning energy into a portable and transferable commodity. 

While this concept is far from realized, it’s the start of a new idea – in time could revolutionize society. 

Most crypto technologies are not harming the environment – certainly not in comparison to any other resource we have at the moment. Crypto is simply a new avenue we have yet to explore fully.

But we’re starting to see the potential there, and making a greener world starts by taking stock of our resources and then figuring out how to use them more efficiently. 

Read more about how you can start fighting for climate change, regardless of your resources or location.