If there is one thing that could really bring the reputation of cryptocurrencies down for good, that would be the rate at which these projects consume energy for mining. Bitcoin has been scorned several times for its indifferent attitude towards carbon footprints left during mining. The issue has become so alarming that some states, like the Republic of Kosovo, even brought restrictions on Bitcoin mining. A few months ago, Elon Musk backed off from the decision to accept Bitcoins for Tesla purchases citing the coin’s tendency to leave huge amounts of Carbon footprints. Energy consumption has become a signifier in determining the relevance of a coin in the future.
Polkadot seems to have greatly prioritized low consumption and is currently the coin with the least carbon footprint. This emerging cryptocurrency project runs with the idea to build a unique architecture that could accommodate other projects.
The native coin of Polkadot goes by the ticker symbol DOT. This coin primarily has two purposes on the blockchain. The DOT coin is the principal staking tool in the Polkadot. Secondly, it is the governance coin for Polkadot that allows the users to vote on the future of the hierarchy. DOT has a market cap of $22 billion, and there are nearly 1 billion coins in circulation. DOT enjoys a place in the list of top 10 cryptocurrencies in the market. Moreover, DOT is expected to peak to $100 in the next five years from its current $22, and this new report from CCRI could catalyze the ascension of the coin. You can get more information on the linked article about Polkadot’s future and why it matters, not just for the crypto industry but also the environment.
DOT’s uniqueness owes much to the parachains of the network, which can be leased out to anyone for up to 96 weeks. The coin has already successfully conducted several rounds of parachain auction and expects the remaining parachains to be leased in the next 12 weeks.
According to the CCRI report, the annual energy consumption of Polkadot is equal to 6.6 times the energy consumed in an average U.S household. At this rate, Polkadot consumes only around 70,000 kWh. Bitcoin and Ethereum, on the other hand, posted a staggering 89 billion and 17 billion kWh energy consumption, respectively. The two top coins are followed by Solana, Cardano, Algorand, Avalanche, and Tezos in the list before winding up with Polkadot at the tail end.
Recently, Polkadot came up with a new initiative known as the Pioneers Program, which offers a $20 million grand prize for innovative ideas. It proves that Polkadot is aiming to bring better technical infrastructures, which could mean even lower energy consumption in the coming years. Amidst such positive improvements, DOT also completed its retest and breakout and is currently trading in the “buy zone” for those desiring to enter long, according to experts.
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