How Blockchain Can Power Sustainable Development

Introduction
Climate change and the challenges of more unpredictable weather systems are fuelled in no small part by carbon emissions. With companies and governments taking ‘net-zero’ pledges to prevent the situation from getting worse, we are faced with one of humanity’s more serious threats.
Bitcoin as an Arbitrage of Energy
Blaming bitcoin for a strain on power grids is like criticizing a Formula One for not performing at its peak in a cross-country rally. Being power-efficient is not its purpose, providing a digital alternative to hard money is. We still have a long way to go when it comes to providing electricity to every individual on the planet. While many urban and industrial clusters globally have constant power availability, billions in Asia and Africa do not have this luxury. Even Bengaluru, India’s Silicon Valley, does not have the guarantee of 24/7 electricity and businesses require generators in order to ensure functionality during the work day.
Cryptocurrency for Financial & Energy Independence

Setting up solar panels on one’s property not only provides a cushion against fluctuating local supply, but also creates the opportunity to sell any excess back to the grid. Government schemes of this kind, especially when paired with subsidies to encourage adoption, make it a simple choice to choose the environmentally-conscious option.
Environmentally-conscious Cryptocurrency of the Future

The cryptocurrency sector is only 14 years old, yet the community has explored ways to transition away from this power-hungry Proof of Work feature that keeps bitcoin secure. Our energy transition away from polluting sources can be helped if we simply consume less. As cryptocurrency amasses a larger following, the scrutiny on this space, and the need for further innovation within it, increases.

Ethereum, the world’s second largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, has recently completed The Merge. Part of a series of planned reforms and improvements to the platform, the central focus is to enhance its scalability while reducing its energy footprint. By adopting a Proof of Stake module, the goal is to reduce the energy consumption of its consensus algorithm by over 99%.
WAHED’s platform crypto platform, powered by WAHED coin, stands to provide a further boost to our shift away from fossil fuels.