The Ethereum merge is still fresh. Not even a month has passed since the second-largest blockchain switched from an energy-intensive proof of work validation mechanism to proof of stake, lowering its energy consumption by 99.5 percent. But context clarifies the magnitude of this change. In the summer before the merge, Ethereum consumed nearly 60 tera-watt hours (TWh) per year, which was roughly on par with the country of Uzbekistan’s annual energy needs. It also meant that the blockchain had a carbon footprint comparable to Azerbaijan’s, emitting roughly 33 megatons (MT) of carbon a year. Take a look at the graph […]