New Bitcoin mining could consume less energy
Although many criticize the high energy consumption by Bitcoin mining; The truth is that this high energy consumption serves as a backup to the network.
Since it causes that trying to violate the blockchain is extremely expensive; due to the enormous amount of energy it would take to even try; Without the guarantee of achieving the perverse objective.
However, this has made mining remain in the hands of a few. All those who are able to cover their high operating costs and leave with profits; leaving out most of the home miners.
So far, cryptocurrency mining has become profitable only in countries where energy is cheap, favoring Western China over the mining business.
Chinese mining teams control much of Bitcoin's hash power, and that is why some fear that China may repress technology and decimate the network.
According to some estimates, One Bitcoin needs more than 73.12 terawatt-hours per year, comparable to the consumption of Austria. This is not sustainable, in the long term; especially if Bitcoin adoption continues to grow as it currently is.
Therefore, it is necessary to explore new mining methods that allow greater efficiency in energy consumption.
The researchers proposal
According to the group of researchers; They have come to what they claim is a cheaper and more efficient way of consuming energy to extract Bitcoin.
The solution that is focused on photonic chips; It was proposed by Micheal Dubrovsky at PoWx, Marshall Ball at Columbia University and Bogdan Penvosky at the University of Paris.
The idea is that instead of using traditional computers to do mining, they would rely on optical computers. These computers use less energy and can make the mining business much more efficient.
The team of researchers said the proposed solution could be "computationally expensive", but it is certainly much more energy efficient.
They also ensure that it is also compatible with the current Bitcoin encryption protocols; making it an ideal addition in future system updates.
The researchers suggest that rapid developments in photonic chip technology now offer better results in terms of efficiency compared to silicon integrated circuits.
What would be the benefits of an Optical Work Test?
More specifically, Dubrovsky says that "The promise of technology is to offer an energy efficiency of 2-3 orders of magnitude better than electronic processors."
The suggested new optical work test could "eliminate energy as the primary cost of mining"; transferring the cost of bitcoin mining to hardware, rather than electricity.
However, this could mean that the minimum price of Bitcoin could fall further due to the reduction of mining operating costs.
At the same time, it would remove Bitcoin mining from the most risky countries with the cheapest electricity and, instead, would be based on nations with the highest technological production.
According to Dubrovsky and his colleagues, a change to the optical test of work, made possible by "rapid growth and improvement of silicon photonics in the last two decades."
It would improve the scalability of the network; it would allow decentralized mining outside the low-cost areas of electricity so it would democratize emission.
And with that, it would prevent Bitcoin hashrate from being so sensitive to the underlying decreases in the price of the currency.