April 22, 2022
By Murtuza Merchant
Mumbai, Apr 22 – In an apparent bid to commemorate World Earth Day, Pledge, a crypto fundraising platform for non-profits today announced the launch of its patent-pending carbon offset initiative, where every crypto transaction made will support verified carbon offset projects.
The mining process connected to how cryptocurrency is logged on the blockchain uses significant energy and contributes to global carbon emissions.
Therefore, PledgeCrypto was inspired to commission the award-winning environmental consulting firm, Three Squares Inc, to conduct a cryptocurrency environmental impact assessment to quantify the carbon emissions of cryptocurrency transactions made on the PledgeCrypto platform, the company said in a statement.
“At Pledge, we fundamentally believe that unlocking crypto donations will provide an abundant new source of funding for nonprofits around the globe, but the process needs to be done in a sustainable way,” said James Citron, CEO of Pledge.
“Inspired by our core values of care and community, we wanted to respond to environmental concerns about crypto, which is why we are proud to lead with the first-of-its-kind patent-pending invention to ensure that every crypto transaction through Pledge will support UNverified projects. This ensures that PledgeCrypto will not only be the most accessible way for donors to donate their digital assets and for nonprofits to receive them but also in the most environmentally conscious way in the industry,” he added.
Eight of the most used cryptocurrencies were evaluated in-depth to quantify the emissions associated with a single transaction. This in-depth analysis factored in the total estimated energy of the cryptocurrency, matched with published recent transaction volumes.
A weighted electricity emissions factor was derived based on the regional breakdown of transaction locations around the globe. Multiple data sets were also used to ensure optimal data integrity.
While the final emissions will vary based on the energy used, location, and the currency being donated, Pledge estimates that roughly every 100 donations will generate approximately 2.6 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. To compensate for this environmental impact, Pledge will cover 100 percent of the carbon footprint of each donation transaction at no additional cost to donors or nonprofits using PledgeCrypto.
Image credit: Wikimedia commons
About the author
Murtuza Merchant is a senior journalist and avid follower of blockchain and cryptocurrencies.
