In brief
By my (very conservative) calculations, Ethereum will see a greater than ~99.95% reduction in energy use post merge.
Dig into the details here: https://t.co/BOiilkZm5a
— carlbeek.eth (@CarlBeek) May 18, 2021
$72,924.00
5.80%$2,655.56
6.40%$607.00
2.65%$181.14
3.54%$0.999462
-0.10%$0.529411
3.14%$2,654.78
6.46%$0.174501
14.70%$0.165656
1.17%$5.11
2.86%$0.353401
5.35%$0.00001923
10.98%$3,151.48
6.59%$27.02
5.73%$72,925.00
5.89%$2,656.02
6.47%$384.72
7.18%$11.61
7.22%$4.23
4.81%$6.08
1.08%$2.03
23.44%$0.994336
-1.84%$73.57
5.39%$4.45
6.99%$9.99
12.42%$2,793.17
6.49%$7.93
5.83%$0.00000975
11.58%$539.60
6.63%$8.11
5.80%$1.35
11.86%$162.55
1.10%$19.39
4.63%$0.096522
3.55%$0.113688
-3.41%$1.86
10.08%$19.02
2.44%$1.001
0.10%$2.67
17.27%$0.336548
6.42%$0.998382
0.03%$39.77
2.97%$1.42
9.66%$151.93
2.12%$3.70
4.99%$0.546563
7.54%$1.72
10.99%$0.076744
5.00%$6.11
8.91%$0.606553
5.99%$0.72142
7.71%$5.14
8.61%$20.30
9.40%$0.050009
5.19%$0.02263358
5.42%$4.55
5.22%$1.78
21.81%$1.18
1.15%$2,654.20
6.35%$0.00002237
10.06%$0.160731
7.06%$0.395818
10.87%$0.00014962
14.36%$1.071
4.32%$2,980.03
6.48%$0.394972
12.77%$2,775.83
6.48%$2.12
9.73%$1.23
7.43%$1.38
3.08%$7.04
5.46%$5.37
10.75%$8.97
3.87%$17.11
10.71%$9.23
1.76%$72,864.00
5.92%$0.390168
15.55%$0.737958
12.17%$52.52
4.58%$0.123363
7.63%$0.101899
11.08%$1,142.30
3.87%$0.01906161
10.47%$1.097
9.92%$222.87
3.72%$0.01913374
8.69%$2,724.88
6.47%$62.39
3.78%$0.01021897
9.98%$2.69
0.63%$0.336391
6.39%$0.938355
7.97%$0.0000009
4.04%$1.29
6.49%$0.02140577
7.95%$0.925777
10.56%$3.21
-2.90%$0.545372
7.89%$2,645.59
6.21%$5.11
15.85%$72,942.00
5.85%$0.000002
19.06%$1.087
7.40%$36.50
11.62%$0.396344
8.20%$5.03
7.13%$9.48
4.95%$72,992.00
6.27%$0.997775
-0.41%$0.00724629
7.26%$0.126183
1.58%$10.18
7.84%$0.00170467
14.65%$0.01411402
4.48%$0.0000361
4.00%$0.467155
4.57%$25.68
9.91%$0.154809
10.76%$72,789.00
5.88%$0.696833
13.41%$0.25337
11.27%$189.95
3.69%$0.675559
6.64%$2,769.13
0.96%$1.048
5.94%$72,646.00
5.52%$0.802758
16.93%$0.0095937
10.70%$1.017
5.15%$0.996007
-0.10%$0.548323
8.32%$0.00922136
12.68%$2,733.80
6.65%$0.259434
5.46%$1.36
12.58%$0.01356747
6.23%$2,655.16
6.42%$0.999053
-0.13%$2.41
9.09%$1.21
1.64%$0.999714
-0.10%$38.58
1.29%$0.311246
7.92%$0.063594
5.47%$17.48
9.52%$215.35
0.84%$1.57
6.85%$0.00000026
11.87%$2.94
7.00%$2,764.59
0.28%$0.0000936
4.30%$0.055472
3.89%$2,656.02
6.48%$2,879.12
6.63%$0.077617
1.18%$0.453941
16.47%$1.85
4.75%$1.71
18.06%$0.137814
11.19%$2,658.95
6.71%$0.00495789
10.56%$0.995923
-0.12%$1.50
11.39%$8.50
8.79%$1.05
6.45%$0.070451
12.32%$0.23582
9.67%$2,649.54
6.43%$1.054
4.61%$0.00000044
0.96%$0.00
11.13%$24.16
6.66%$0.057086
6.56%$0.02816941
1.69%$0.117987
8.08%$0.140636
10.61%$3.66
10.52%$73,029.00
5.99%$0.407637
1.82%$0.993465
0.68%$11.33
6.59%$1.067
0.06%$0.04227517
12.18%$2,656.75
6.69%$0.07837
17.54%$45.05
6.58%$1.062
0.04%$0.01341886
5.40%$2,659.00
6.61%$7.95
8.60%$0.05657
5.82%$0.500221
3.98%$0.347442
10.28%$0.678772
9.49%$0.204957
17.16%$0.999172
-0.16%$1.001
-0.17%$3.27
9.53%$0.72114
3.81%$0.00666141
11.38%$2,843.80
6.54%$182.96
3.65%$1.51
4.61%$0.265891
6.88%$1.60
13.12%$2,762.14
5.99%$0.0006376
8.39%$2,919.37
6.25%$83.98
1.32%$0.17388
14.20%$0.783432
8.19%$0.322126
7.01%$0.317222
17.37%$0.458439
8.02%$2.47
0.14%$0.257643
8.27%$1.51
11.19%$0.680895
13.12%$0.00384397
3.68%$0.00094118
10.28%$0.00171703
9.24%$0.346305
8.26%$72,507.00
6.01%$3.60
-2.36%$0.302081
21.10%$1,464.25
5.80%$2.43
18.63%$2,811.92
6.37%$0.02940886
1.84%$2.90
26.31%$2.97
1.73%$72,863.00
5.94%$0.338108
9.41%$3.64
2.97%$46.22
18.89%$0.01477407
6.70%$17.85
5.43%$23.22
4.02%$0.727162
10.26%$0.00481445
6.10%$0.094796
0.56%$6.73
8.57%$0.151317
7.32%$4.06
6.02%$0.240083
7.07%$0.01825384
9.40%$0.36182
3.15%$23.76
15.84%Ethereum’s upcoming ETH 2.0 upgrade could help reduce the blockchain’s energy consumption and will no longer devour “a country's worth of power,” according to Carl Beekhuizen, a researcher at the Ethereum Foundation.
“By my (very conservative) calculations, Ethereum will see a greater than ~99.95% reduction in energy use post-merge,” Beekhuizen wrote in a research report published yesterday.
By my (very conservative) calculations, Ethereum will see a greater than ~99.95% reduction in energy use post merge.
Dig into the details here: https://t.co/BOiilkZm5a
— carlbeek.eth (@CarlBeek) May 18, 2021
Taking the total number of validators, unique addresses, and the average energy consumed by hardware into account, the resulting figure was significantly lower than Ethereum’s current energy demands using the proof of work (PoW) consensus mechanism.
“In total, a Proof of Stake Ethereum, therefore, consumes something on the order of 2.62 megawatt. This is not on the scale of countries, provinces, or even cities, but that of a small town (around 2,100 American homes),” Beekhuizen wrote.
Currently, Ethereum’s blockchain uses the same energy-hungry proof of work (PoW) consensus mechanism employed by Bitcoin. This will change soon, however, thanks to Ethereum 2.0. The ambitious multi-year upgrade will switch the network to a greener consensus mechanism called proof of stake (PoS).
This is because proof of stake relies on users locking up—or staking—Ethereum to support the production of new blocks instead of using energy-intensive mining rigs.
In terms of energy required per transaction, ETH 2.0 uses the equivalent of “about 20 minutes of TV,” he added. By comparison, one transaction on PoW Ethereum requires the same amount of electricity that can be used to power a house for 2.8 days, while one Bitcoin transfer consumes “38 house-days worth.”
While ETH 2.0 is only in its preliminary stages, users have already locked up more than 4 million tokens in it.
The first testnets for the post-merge Ethereum—when the blockchain fully transitions to ETH 2.0—were launched in late April. A hard date for the full launch, however, has been notoriously hard to pin down.
Still, Beekhuizen concluded that “Ethereum’s power-hungry days are numbered, and I hope that’s true for the rest of the industry too.”
Editor's note: This story was updated after publication to clarify that there more than 4 million ETH tokens currently staked in ETH 2.0, not $4 million worth of ETH.