Can Crypto Technology Boost Clean Energy? | Opinion

Can Crypto Technology Boost Clean Energy? | Opinion

Like many of my colleagues in the crypto investing world, I feel strongly that our sector has the potential to lead in mitigating climate change. That's why it's frustrating to read headlines like "Bitcoin is a disaster for the planet" and news articles that steamroll over the complexity of this emergent technology. We need to agree on some basic facts before we start hardening our positions and making business and policy decisions that will determine the future of our economy and planet.

Bitcoin is Only One Crypto Application

Bitcoin is the most popular and well-known crypto protocol, and it often gets used as short-hand for the entire crypto-economic sector. And yet bitcoin is only one of thousands of crypto-networks, applications and protocols made possible by the blockchain—the game-changing technology that allows two parties to verify a transaction without the need of a trusted third party. The Ethereum blockchain, for example, has enabled hundreds of new lending and investing apps, like Compound, and spawned companies like Orbit, which allows individuals to buy and sell solar power.