The Ethereum Merge, which transitioned from proof-of-work (PoW) to proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus, was a significant upgrade in the ETH blockchain. One of the benefits of the upgrade is it has reduced the energy consumed by the network by 99.9%.
Keep in mind that this transition from PoW to PoS is also necessary as the network seeks to become a green blockchain. This leads to long-term energy efficiency and a low carbon footprint.
ETH’s Annual Energy Consumption
Before the Merge, last month, the total energy consumed by the ETH network was between 46.31 TWh per year and 93.98 TWh per year. Keep in mind that the lowest energy consumption by the network was recorded on the 26th of December 2019, and it was 4.75 TWh per year. Notice the massive difference in energy consumption within this period.
Following the Merge completion, the network has seen a drastic reduction in energy consumption by over 99.9%. Furthermore, the network will continue to maintain this minimal energy consumption.
In addition, the ETH network has experienced a reduction in its carbon footprint. The annual carbon footprint currently stands at 0.1 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (MtCO2).
According to the on-chain analytics firm, Digiconomist, the energy consumption of a single transaction in the Ethereum network is the same as when watching a YouTube video for 2 hours.
Concerns Raised On Centralization
Even as the crypto community applauded the ETH Merge, they expressed concerns about blockchain’s centralization and increased regulatory monitoring.
There were signs of centralization following the Merge. For example, only two addresses were responsible for data storage, processing of transactions, and addition of new blockchain blocks for 46.15% of all nodes. Supporters of the network raised concerns about the cost of becoming an Ethereum validator.
They claim that the minimum of 32 ETH (about $41,416 at the current conversion rate) needed to become an ETH validator is out of reach for the average trader or newcomer. Hence, it makes such traders ineligible to become an Ethereum validator.
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