If we talk to you about Chia, you may think of the famous seeds, a fashionable health food originating in Mexico. But the term chia now refers to a very different reality. This article is about a young cryptocurrency that aims to be more environmentally friendly than the others. Chia is making a name for itself in the crypto world, aiming to rectify Bitcoin’s shortcomings. Its impressive rise in value and recent tracking on CoinMarketCap show the cryptocurrency’s real potential. Using a very specific process, the Chia network hopes to pave the way for alternative, more environmentally-friendly cryptos. We take a closer look at this crypto that is shaking things up when it comes to ecology.
[bctt tweet=”A #cryptocurrency better than #Bitcoin from an ecological point of view? Find out more about #chia, a #crypto that claims to be “greener”;” username=”coinaute”]
Chia in figures
Chia price chart in dollars
chia price
Source : CoinMarketCap
Chia price trend to date
The crypto recently made its appearance on CoinMarketCap, the preferred platform for all fans of these virtual assets. It is gaining the trust of the major sites in the field. According to the same site, the price of Chia is currently in excess of €1,000, at €110.10. Chia is currently ranked 2,527th among the world’s cryptocurrencies. CoinMarketCap has recorded Chia Network data since the beginning of May. Chia’s value has fluctuated considerably. When it was first introduced on the CoinMarketCap site, the token was priced at more than €1,700. After falling back to around €500, it was only after several variations that the price jumped again to a value above €1,000. See the price in other cryptocurrencies
Price forecasts
According to several platforms, the price of the chia token has a strong chance of rising, even reaching $1,700 (around €1,400) by the end of the year. So the future looks bright for ChiaNetwork, at least for this year.
What is chia?
ChiaNetwork created its XCH token in 2017, with the aim of addressing the environmental issues associated with cryptocurrency mining. Bram Cohen is the man behind the project. The computer scientist is also known for having created the BitTorrent file-sharing method.
Like several other cryptoassets, the Chia network uses blockchain technology. But unlike most cryptos, Chia does not use the “Proof of work” model that rewards miners. Instead, ChiaNetwork uses a different process that verifies transactions using “proofs of space and time”.
If you’re interested in this kind of crypto-currency, you should be interested in Solarcoin.
An observation: mining is a polluting activity
Cryptocurrencies are not neutral for the environment, quite the contrary. These impacts are even being denounced more and more, even by the first cryptocurrency enthusiasts. For example, Elon Musk very recently removed the possibility of buying a Tesla in Bitcoin, a measure that caused quite a stir.
The vast majority of cryptocurrencies can be mined. However, this activity is extremely polluting. The principle of mining is based on the use of a computer mechanism that consumes a lot of energy. This mechanism is essential to the smooth operation of virtual assets, insofar as it enables new coins to be created. For this activity, miners are rewarded directly in tokens, a consideration that is attracting more and more users. In view of this, ChiaNetwork is no longer offering mining, but farming, a method that is supposed to be less polluting. Find out more about mining and ecology.
How Chia works
Proof of space and time: To offset the environmental impact of mining, ChiaNetwork has developed a “proof of space and time” system. In concrete terms, network users prove that they are using empty storage space on their disk.
Network accessibility: The token has been designed to be as accessible as possible. In fact, “farming” does not require you to own a lot of space or hardware, and it consumes less energy. The token’s founder explained:
“We designed our software with the intention that it would be usable by anyone capable of using the internet.”
The Chia blockchain: The network uses the Mainnet blockchain, which is available for download from the official Chia website. After downloading the programme and dedicating empty spaces of your risk to the network, you can proceed with ‘farming’.
Is Chia really less polluting than Bitcoin?
Bitcoin in brief
One of the cryptocurrencies most criticised for its environmental impact is Bitcoin. The world’s first crypto currency uses blockchain technology for its transactions. Users of the network can help to make it even faster and more efficient by mining it. In exchange for their activity, miners receive an attractive reward, which attracts new users. The network then improves thanks to these new miners and so on. Find out more about Bitcoin
Is chia really revolutionary?
Farming certainly consumes less energy, but the problem of using electricity has not been resolved. In reality, farming consumes electricity and is therefore not energy-neutral.
Similarly, if we go back to the source of these environmental problems, we must not forget the impact of computers and computer hardware. Computers require energy to operate and, like hard disks, are built from rare natural resources, whose extraction processes are polluting.
What’s more, farmers don’t just use their available space. They multiply the number of disks, leading to numerous purchases of computer hardware, to the point of almost causing a shortage.
The overall environmental impact is less with Chia than with Bitcoin, for example. It should be noted, however, that the process used by Chia uses processor power and not just disk space. Generally speaking, Chia is gentler on the environment than other cryptocurrencies. Ultimately, the road to a completely neutral crypto is still a long one.
