How Ethereum Cut Its Energy Use by 99.9%: - launched in 2015 using Proof of Work - miners use huge computing power to secure the network - energy consumption grows with Ethereum - at peak, power demand reaches ~2.4 GW - comparable to a small country September 15, 2022: - Ethereum completes "The Merge" - removes miners - switches to Proof of Stake - validators now secure the network by staking $ETH 2026: - Cambridge publishes a new study on Ethereum's energy footprint - annual electricity use: ~7.87 GWh - continuous power demand: ~0.90 MW - electricity consumption drops 99.9%+ - annual emissions fall ~99.98% - from ~10.3M tonnes of CO₂e - to just ~2,370 tonnes ~56.4% of its energy comes from sustainable sources - runs on at least ~8,522 accessible full nodes - average node uses only ~105 watts For comparison: - Ethereum now uses less than half the electricity of the British Museum - roughly equal to ~2,900 UK households ~33,000x less electricity than legacy banking - one of the biggest energy reductions ever achieved by a major blockchain - It deleted 99.9%+ of its power consumption with one transition.