{"id":233037,"date":"2021-04-22T11:20:28","date_gmt":"2021-04-22T08:20:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/ripple-co-founder-thinks-bitcoin-should-move-away-from-proof-of-work\/"},"modified":"2021-04-22T11:20:28","modified_gmt":"2021-04-22T08:20:28","slug":"ripple-co-founder-thinks-bitcoin-should-move-away-from-proof-of-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/ripple-co-founder-thinks-bitcoin-should-move-away-from-proof-of-work\/","title":{"rendered":"# Ripple co-founder thinks Bitcoin should move away from proof-of-work"},"content":{"rendered":"

“# Ripple co-founder thinks Bitcoin should move away from proof-of-work <\/strong>”
\n<\/p>\n

Bitcoin\u00a0code contributors need to consider a move away from the cryptocurrency\u2019s proof-of-work consensus mechanism, Ripple co-founder Chris Larsen argued.<\/p>\n

In a Wednesday blog post, Larsen outlined<\/a> major PoW-related vulnerabilities, noting\u00a0growing concerns over Bitcoin\u2019s carbon footprint. According to the executive, PoW-based coins like Bitcoin (BTC) should consider a code change to carbon-neutral validation methods like proof-of-stake or federated consensus, or something yet to be developed.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would argue that such a change is critically important for Bitcoin to remain the world\u2019s dominant cryptocurrency. PoW\u2019s current energy demands and carbon footprint are already unsustainably high, with Bitcoin alone consuming an average of 132 TWh a year \u2014 equivalent to roughly 12 million U.S. homes,\u201d Larsen noted.<\/p>\n

The co-founder pointed out that non-PoW altcoins \u2014 including Ethereum\u2019s anticipated switch to proof-of-stake\u00a0\u2014 make up 43% of all cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, with many new coins choosing to avoid PoW. \u201cIt\u2019s clear which way the trend is moving,\u201d he stated.<\/p>\n

Larsen mentioned that the XRP ledger has been using federated consensus to secure its network and validate transactions for about nine years. \u201cIt\u2019s closed 62+ million ledgers without downtime, uses the energy equivalent of just 50 U.S. homes per year,\u201d he noted. Some new successful altcoins like Binance\u2019s native token Binance Coin (BNB) also operate a version of PoS, Larsen said.<\/p>\n

Larsen\u2019s remarks come amid a significant drop in Bitcoin\u2019s dominance on cryptocurrency markets. In March, the Bitcoin Dominance Index dropped below 60% for the first time since October 2020. As the altcoin market gains momentum, Bitcoin continues to lose its share of the market, with the dominance index falling to 50.7% on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

There has been a long-running debate between proponents of PoW and PoS, with the latter\u2019s advocates seeing mining energy costs as the biggest problem for PoW. The Bitcoin and Monero\u00a0community \u2014 some of the biggest PoW proponents \u2014 often argue that PoS cannot reach the level of security and decentralization provided by PoW. <\/p>\n

Niklas Nikolajsen, the founder of Swiss crypto broker Bitcoin Suisse, predicted that Bitcoin will shift to PoS once the Ethereum network proves the algorithm\u2019s success.<\/p>\n