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Environmental Groups to Spend Another $1M on Ads for Bitcoin Code Change After the Merge
The "Change the Code, Not the Climate" campaign is upping its efforts following Ethereum's switch to proof of stake.
Environmental groups pledged to spend another $1 million on online ads to pressure the Bitcoin community to change the network's code in order to reduce energy consumption.
Earlier on Thursday, the Ethereum blockchain – which underpins the world's second-largest cryptocurrency by market value– changed its consensus mechanism from proof-of-work (PoW) to proof-of-stake (PoS), doing away with the need for energy-intensive computing power. Bitcoin, a PoW network, has been facing mounting criticism over its energy use, which is on par with some small countries. These criticisms were echoed in part in a report on bitcoin mining published by the White House last week.
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"Ethereum’s energy-efficient ‘merge’ leaves bitcoin as lone cryptocurrency climate polluter," wrote Environmental Working Group (EWG) in a Thursday statement, which along with Greenpeace USA, Ripple co-founder Chris Larsen and other small environmental organizations launched a campaign to change the bitcoin code earlier this year.
On top of the new ad funds, Greenpeace USA started an online petition calling on multi-trillion-dollar asset manager Fidelity Investments to help take the lead in pushing Bitcoin to switch to PoS.
Read more: The Ethereum Merge Is Done, Opening a New Era for the Second-Biggest Blockchain
Eliza Gkritsi
Eliza Gkritsi is a CoinDesk contributor focused on the intersection of crypto and AI, having previously covered mining for two years. She previously worked at TechNode in Shanghai and has graduated from the London School of Economics, Fudan University, and the University of York. She owns 25 WLD. She tweets as @egreechee.
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Crypto Industry Asks President Trump to Stop JPMorgan’s 'Punitive Tax' on Data Access
A coalition of fintech and crypto trade groups is urging the White House to defend open banking and stop JPMorgan from charging fees to access customer data.
What to know:
- Ten major fintech and crypto trade associations have urged President Trump to stop big banks from imposing fees that could hinder innovation and competition.
- JPMorgan's plan to charge for access to consumer banking data may debank millions and threaten the adoption of stablecoins and self-custody wallets.
- The CFPB's open banking rule, which mandates free consumer access to bank data, is under threat as banks have sued to block it, and the CFPB has requested its vacatur.
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