⚠️Key Challenge 2 - Successfully Addressing Blockchain Technology's Climate Concerns

At Circularity, our aim is not to merely offset your carbon footprint. Instead, we are putting the spotlight on sustainability initiatives centered around renewable energy, funding their development and integration in the different sectors of society. Furthermore, as a team of chemical engineers and scientists already actively engaged in the chemical manufacturing and petrochemical industry, we are actively on the hunt for opportunities to build our own clean energy facilities where carbon capture and green hydrogen are the protagonists.

Clean Energy and Blockchain: The Current Biggest Problem

Debunking the "Dirty" and "Costly" Reputation of Blockchain

The cryptocurrency industry revolutionizes how people manage and invest their finances. Without intermediaries to disrupt or withhold transactions, cryptocurrency and blockchain technology are an economic game-changer.

Cryptocurrency rose to popularity at a rather gradual pace. The radical concept of Bitcoin back in 2009 barely scraped the surface of mainstream news highlights. Yet as the years have passed, the fiat economy continues dwindling. More people are losing trust in banking institutions and governments, exploring alternative ways to invest and complete monetary transactions.

The COVID-19 pandemic redefined the value of physical currency amid an economic crisis. As the need for cash grew, so did innovative contactless payments. The rise of digital payments highlighted the value of cryptocurrency yet again. Fast-forward to the present, where over 10,000 cryptocurrencies are bought, sold, and traded off the market.

A significant proportion of the tech-savvy public has caught up with the potential of cryptocurrency. At its core, cryptocurrency aims to empower people who have lost their faith in the subpar performance of traditional finance and tedious transactions with banks and governing agencies. Add to this population the amount of people who are still “unbanked” in 2022 and require some kind of financial asset to manage their savings and transactions – over 1.7 billion people, according to the World Bank.

Yet, many remain skeptical of the entire process of cryptocurrency, crypto mining and the blockchain. It seems almost unfathomable for a currency to be minted digitally; however, this is no different from how dollar bills have long lost their value in gold and inflation continues to skyrocket each decade.

For those who are unaware, the largest and most valuable cryptocurrency tokens (Bitcoin and Ethereum) come into existence through mining, which requires exhaustive energy consumption and powerful computer processors. Thus, crypto mining has earned a distasteful reputation, especially with today’s social movements for climate change and sustainability. Proof of Work (PoW), the cryptographic proof adopted by these and other key players, in essence, enables computers to compete with one another to gain verification for mining and safekeeping of transactions. Processors and graphics cards overclock, in turn consuming more energy to edge their competitors and make that extra buck.

Environmental experts have called out the cryptocurrency industry for the overwhelming amount of energy consumed. Reports have poured in over how a single transaction on the blockchain can consume the equivalent of a household’s electric bill for the month. The cryptocurrency industry did not ignore these facts, knowing that the climate change problem is real, and not long after crypto mining was introduced, presented a solution to decrease the energy consumed per transaction: the Proof of Stake (PoS) consensus mechanism.

Proof of Stake, Ethereum 2.0 and Promoting Sustainability via Blockchain

In the promotion of clean energy and the development of its very own energy facilities, Circularity is launching on Ethereum. Undoubtedly one of the leading blockchains by market share and largest in terms of development potential, Ethereum has pledged to transition to Ethereum 2.0, adopting a Proof of Stake (PoS) cryptocurrency consensus mechanism to alleviate the burden off computer processors and reduce consumption of electricity. With PoS, participants “stake” a significant amount of tokens to validate their minting and/or transaction history.

Circularity pursues activities best introduced and developed on the Ethereum blockchain. Promotion and awareness are central to our activities, hence it is only appropriate to launch on a platform with a dense user base. The established trust in Ethereum secures potential investors to join forces with us and invite more participants along the way.

Moreover, many fail to understand that an estimated 57% of crypto mining activity is powered by renewable energy. Wind and solar energy generate the electricity needed for crypto investors and traders to participate in the market. Aligned to this, many “green” cryptocurrencies and decentralized platforms have emerged, pledging for accountability of individual and corporate carbon footprint.

In our project’s case and to avoid straying from our net-zero mission and messaging, we will be purchasing carbon credits with a portion of the proceeds raised from our Circularity token sales. With the synergy between investors and company partners strengthening our capabilities, Circularity will be one step closer to industry-wide research and development on sustainable technology.

Finally, the blockchain serves as the ideal platform to generate funds for partner startups. Without intermediaries to slow down transaction processes, our investors and partners can immediately set off and engage in business.