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Bitcoin has been facing backlash from across the globe due to its energy-intensive Proof of Work (PoW) consensus mechanism. Bitcoin change the code movement was launched to transfer the flagship currency to the Proof of Stake (PoS) mechanism.
Last updated Oct 25, 2022 at 12:51 AM
Posted Oct 16, 2022 at 01:00 PM
Based on certain statistics, the mining process already consumes as much power as Sweden, and its brisk popularity is reviving failed fossil fuel firms in the United States. According to a campaign, all of that would improve with a simple adjustment in the manner Bitcoin is coded.
We will explore why Bitcoin needs so much energy and we will also look into whether “bitcoin change the code movement” can be successful or not. If it’s successful, what will be the impact on the king crypto asset? Let’s begin!!
Bitcoin Change the Code Movement
Bitcoin change the code movement was launched by Chris Larsen and Greenpeace USA in March 2022. Chris Larsen has been an advocate of changing Bitcoin’s fundamental Proof of Work (PoW) mechanism and replacing it with an efficient Proof of Stake (PoS) mechanism. Crypto billionaires and environmentalists have started lobbying to change the consensus mechanism. Chris Larsen, Ripple co-founder, tweeted an article thread mentioning the strategy of how they will be lobbying to change the Bitcoin PoW mechanism.
The movement seeks to alter bitcoin's proof-of-work (PoW) consensus process, which consumes a significant amount of energy. Larsen is investing $5 million in the advertising campaign, entitled "Change the Code, Not the Climate," which began in April, according to Bloomberg.
A press statement from the firm reveals the campaign will include ads in news journals such as the New York Times (NYT), Politico, The Wall Street Journal, and MarketWatch, and on Facebook, and a few of the ads will target some of bitcoin's powerful supporters, including Elon Musk, Jack Dorsey, and Abby Johnson.
So, in the short term, the whole movement is about persuading powerful mining firms and developers to change the consensus mechanism and save the environment. Bitcoin change the code movement got a backlash from crypto users and Bitcoin supporters.
The fundamental bitcoin working mechanism is based on the PoW mechanism. Using this mechanism, miners validate transactions by providing computational power and get new Bitcoin in reward for validating the transactions.
Through the current mechanism, Bitcoin mining is consuming too much energy. Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Index (CBEI) shows that Bitcoin mining consumes more than a whole country like Sweden. Energy consumption has seen an exponential rise in the last couple of years. Total power consumption from 2017 to today has exceeded 385 terawatt-hours (TWh).
Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Index
Several reports “Nature Climate Change” reveals that the energy consumption of Bitcoin can increase global warmth by 2 degrees. The carbon emission from Bitcoin mining is simply too much. The miners are acquiring the coal mines and oil to mine the flagship currency. These were some of the reasons for launching this campaign.
When environmentalists announced a movement in March to shift Bitcoin's software from the power-intensive proof-of-work (PoW) architecture, many bitcoin users mocked the campaign. Aside from the matter of whether proof-of-work mining is the environmental threat that campaigners believe it is, many cryptocurrency veterans are skeptical that the technique will work.
That method is based on convincing a small number of companies or individuals who, according to the organizers, have the authority to effect the change or at least persuade a majority of people to endorse it.
This strategy appears to be unaware of Bitcoin's background, particularly the block size wars of 2015-2017, especially the discussion over the Segregated Witness (SegWit) upgrade, during which one of two suggested amendments advocated by the largest firms lost in the face of extensive user resistance. The leadership of the "Change the Code, Not the Climate" movement acknowledges this past and even sees it as proof that change is feasible.
Rolf Skar works as a project supervisor for Greenpeace USA, an environmental group involved in the campaign. In a discussion with CoinDesk, Skar explained there are two fundamental considerations regarding the platform's ability to evolve. The first is whether it is technologically viable. According to Skar, the 2017 SegWit update "shows that it is, quite evidently, technologically possible to do so." However, he said that the second question is "if a suggested change could garner sufficient backing to be accepted."
Even if the movement can get support from the top miners to change the consensus mechanism, the public might not accept it. Bitcoin was not created to be held hostage by a bunch of miners and powerful people.
Regardless of whether it is possible, changing the method is not the end of the story. According to Jonas Nick, a Bitcoin engineer with Blockstream who was engaged in another major software change known as Taproot that was executed last year, reaching a "rough public consensus" was a crucial component for the update to be deployed.
But, according to Nick, the secret to modifying Bitcoin is convincing "the largest proportion of business activity on Bitcoin to utilize the new software. "You always can alter the rules of chess," the developer replied, "but you may have to play alone."
CoinDesk
The volume of accessible connections in the Bitcoin system is one indicator of its decentralization. The volume of accessible Bitcoin miners has grown by 27.5% since the end of 2017. The blocksize conflicts demonstrated that users influence the protocol's direction, implying that more cooperation is required to implement significant changes to the system.
When asked if Bitcoin might be moved away from PoW, Nick stated that the Bitcoin community believes PoW "is the only known consensus algorithm that can power a decentralized currency."
According to Andrew M. Bailey, a cryptocurrency instructor at the Yale University Singapore, individuals have attempted to change Bitcoin via multiple forks, but the worth of these coins continues to plummet "very swiftly."
That implies that "the overwhelming majority of Bitcoiners will simply sell their modified proof-of-stake currency," and that "the only method for making it occur is to actually achieve majority consensus" from the community members, he said.
Bailey believes that this resolution is "very unlikely since Bitcoin has this conservative development culture," in which modifications are made gradually and only when the public is absolutely sure of their impact.
If Bitcoin changes to the PoS consensus mechanism, the currency will become centralized and the concept of decentralization will vanish as people with large holdings will dictate the direction of BTC. Bitcoin change the code moment enthusiasts have even encouraged governments to ban PoW mining as China has. Bitcoin enthusiasts' counter activities are picking up, and their greenwashing looks to be working. A bill to outlaw PoW mining across the EU was recently defeated by the European Parliament.