[Rejected] Pi Network Aims to Wipe Out alarming Bitcoin’s Energy Consumption and Environmental Damage
In recent years, many users have indicated a high interest in using Bitcoin as an investment instrument.
As interest in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies has increased, the energy demand to support cryptocurrency “mining” activities also has increased. When localized, increased energy demands can exceed the available power capacity and increase customers’ electricity rates.
Bitcoin mining through a “proof of work algorithm” requires enormous energy demands to operate the devices computing the calculations required to maintain the integrity of the blockchain.
What is this new cryptocurrency all about?
The Pi Network is a new kind of “social cryptocurrency” that was recently developed by Sandford graduates and PhDs (Vince McPhillip, Chengdiao Fan, and Nicolas Kokkalis). The Pi Network’s simplicity makes it efficient, lightweight, and easy to use as it is designed to run on mobile phones.
The new cryptocurrency was launched just a few months ago on Pi Day (14th March 2019), and the project has surpassed 500,000 installs, with active members in more than 180,000 countries.
Its rising popularity is a result of the relative “accessibility” of the network. Unlike bitcoin, Pi is powered by the strength of its users – “social networks”.
What are the limitations of Bitcoin?
Despite bitcoin generating widespread visibility and attracting great interests from corporations, technologists, and investors, this innovative technology is not without its limitations. It remains majorly not accessible to the majority of people since bitcoin mining is quite expensive, and it demands extensive technical knowledge to participate.
However, to make the matter worse, bitcoin’s energy consumption through mining generates carbon emissions, and the impact is harmful to the environment.
Bitcoin’s proof-of-work consensus protocol depends on nodes consuming lots of electricity in competition to be the first to solve a math equation.
New features of the Pi Network
Pi is built on the “stellar consensus protocol” that relies on the involvement of many nodes to “vote” on transaction validity. The communication involved for nodes to reach consensus requires significantly less computing power.
Moreover, the Pi network is made of what is identified as “security circles”. These are groups constituted of different users who have been vouched for by their peers. Once considered trustworthy by other fellows of their groups, these members are allowed to validate transactions on Pi’s blockchain.
This is what keeps the Pi network safe and funds on the network secure. Users are selected for inclusion in social circles based on their trustworthiness as well as by proving themselves to the members, and those who are admitted to have demonstrated a willingness to comply with rules and a commitment to the network’s security.
Besides that, Pi members can directly mine new tokens from their smartphones. This is a relatively low-cost process, which requires minimal battery power.
Also, after three mining sessions, members can begin building their own security circles that are normally made of about three to five members who the miner trusts not to execute fraudulent transactions.
Takeaway
As the bitcoin’s energy consumption continues to be a concern, many questions have been asked how this problem could be addressed.
Designed with “the stellar consensus protocol”, Pi Network appears to provide a potential solution that consumes less computing power. This new crypto project offers a great alternative algorithm that could potentially achieve validation transfers and minimize cryptocurrency energy consumption.
However, Pi Network’s stellar consensus protocol is just one option of many as there are other protocols like proof authority, proof of stake, and others, which are also useful. For example, some cryptocurrencies operate under algorithms like proof authority and proof of stake, which require less energy.