Ethereum blockchain update will reduce electricity consumption by 0.2%

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin explained how The Merge can help the world — the transition of electricity networks to the green blockchain will reduce electricity consumption by 0.2% worldwide.

As the father of ethereum explained, the Proof-of-Stake consensus algorithm is faster, more energy efficient, and safer than Proof-of-Work. The Merge will reduce the energy consumption of ETHs by 99% and, according to Buterin, will open up new opportunities for developers.

«The merge will reduce worldwide electricity consumption by 0.2%» — @drakefjustin

— vitalik. eth (@VitalikButerin) September 15, 2022

In his tweet, Buterin quoted Ethereum Foundation researcher Justin Drake, who reported such figures during the online wait for the update. Users from all over the world could watch The Merge live on Ethereum. After the successful transition to the «green» blockchain, the developers talked live about the future prospects for Ethereum.

According to the data in the graph showing energy consumption in TWh/year, the entire Ethereum network after the merger consumes less energy than YouTube, gold mining, BTC POW, ETH PoW, Netflix, gaming, and PayPal.

As a reminder, The Merge took place at 9:45 a.m. (Kyiv time), and according to the developers, no difficulties were recorded during the merger. During the upgrade, the main Ethereum network connected to the Beacon Chain, fully switching the cryptocurrency to the PoS consensus algorithm.