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Bitcoin Isn't Going to Change


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Illustration shows the Bitcoin symbol behind telecom towers.

There is no evidence that the key players in Bitcoin are interested in making the big switch to energy-saving proof of stake.

Credit: The New York Times, CSA-Images, and Maximkostenko, via Getty Images

The people behind Bitcoin are under heavy pressure to reduce its carbon footprint—the planet-warming emissions from burning fossil fuels for electricity to run the network's computations, known as mining. However, it appears that Bitcoin is highly unlikely to change its fundamental way of operating.

Bitcoin feels wasteful to a lot of people because its security depends on buying lots of specialized computing hardware that's useless for any other purpose and then running it hard, which consumes joules and joules of electricity.

From The New York Times
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