A group of activists screams forabolition of the Proof-of-Work protocol, the technology underlying the functioning of major cryptocurrencies. The initiative is called Change the code
Therefore, this is not an outright condemnation of cryptocurrencies, but an attempt to persuade companies, DAOs and miners to promote and approve the transition to solutions that have less impact on the environment. The PoW protocol was not born with cryptocurrencies, it was originally designed with the aim of fighting the first email spam campaigns.
Over there blockchain it is a decentralized registry, there is no central body or server in charge of processing and approving every transaction. This task is thus entrusted to the so-called miners. Miners compete with each other to solve very complex math problems (such as hash functions). Only those who get to the solution first will verify the new block and get an economic reward in return. To do this, miners use machines specially designed for this purpose, which consume a lot of electricity.
Bitcointhe first cryptocurrency, uses PoW and so do the major alternatives such as ZCash, Monero and so on. Ethereum today it uses the PoW, but the foundation that has been following the project for years is working on the transition to the protocol Proof of stake It works differently and has no major impact on the environment. Over the years, several less decentralized cryptocurrencies have also emerged – and less close to the original cypherpunk philosophy – designed to be faster, cheaper, and optimized for DeFi and NFTs: one of these is Solanathat uses a calling protocol Evidence of history
It also adheres to the Change the Code campaign Greenpac USA The director of the US branch, Rolf Stark, explained that changing the Bitcoin code is becoming increasingly important. “However, the solutions – explains the activist – must come from the community of developers and experts”. Hence the motto change the code, not the climate
However, the campaign’s request is likely to meet strong resistance. THE Bitcoin Maximalists do not favor abolishing the PoW protocol, which they believe is (probably rightly so) the only tool suitable for guaranteeing the underlying properties of cryptocurrencies without compromise: decentralization, without permission and censorship resistant.
The New York State legislature recently passed a moratorium that effectively bans the use of fossil fuels to mine Bitcoin (and all PoW cryptocurrencies). However, the law must receive final approval from the state governor, who has a veto power.
Source: Lega Nerd
