Vitalik Buterin, the co-founder of Ethereum, has expressed his belief that Dogecoin and ZCash may soon transition to environmentally friendly operations, following Ethereum’s notable upgrade to a greener model. September marked a pivotal moment in the blockchain sphere with Ethereum’s long-anticipated transition, commonly referred to as the Merge. This upgrade involved a significant shift from a resource-intensive Proof-of-Work (PoW) system to a more sustainable Proof-of-Stake (PoS) framework, resulting in a remarkable 99.95 percent reduction in electricity consumption.
Buterin noted in a recent interview with the crypto market intelligence firm Messari, “I’d say should … as PoS matures I would expect it to increase in legitimacy over time. I hope @zcash moves over and I am hopeful @dogecoin moves to PoS soon.” His comments reflect a growing sentiment within the industry regarding the need for blockchains to adopt cleaner technologies amidst increasing scrutiny over their energy usage.
Launched in December 2013 and October 2016 respectively, Dogecoin and ZCash are built on the Litecoin and Bitcoin blockchains. Both cryptocurrencies currently operate on the energy-intensive PoW model, which raises significant concerns about their environmental impact. To align with Ethereum’s eco-friendly approach following the Merge, they would need to undergo a substantial transition to a PoS system.
The PoW mining process relies on a competitive validation method to confirm transactions and add new blocks to the blockchain, making it costly and resource-intensive. In contrast, PoS validation involves the random selection of validators to confirm transactions, minimizing reliance on powerful computing resources.
Following the successful launch of the Merge on September 15, Dogecoin claimed its position as the second-largest PoW cryptocurrency, trailing only Bitcoin. Other PoW cryptocurrencies, including Ethereum Classic (ETC), Litecoin (LTC), and Monero (XMR), occupy the subsequent ranks.
The notion of transitioning ZCash and Dogecoin to greener operations is not entirely novel. According to a report by CryptoPotato, developers associated with both cryptocurrencies have reportedly shown interest in shifting to a PoS framework.
