key takeaways
- Ethereum development firm ConsenSys has announced a line of NFTs to mark the upcoming merger of Ethereum.
- Switching to Ethereum’s Proof-of-Stake will reduce energy consumption, a fact reflected by ConsenSys’ green NFTs.
- In recent years, Ethereum-based NFTs have been criticized for their reliance on energy-intensive mining.
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Blockchain development firm ConsenSys has announced a line of green NFTs to commemorate the upcoming merger of Ethereum.
ConsenSys announces NFT line
ConsenSys is releasing a line of eco-friendly NFTs to celebrate the merger.
The company announced on Thursday, September 1, that it would be releasing a collection of NFTs called “Regenesis.” ConsenSys says that the NFT Collection “explores the scale and importance” of Ethereum’s merge and “focuses on the most important benefit of the merge: stability.”
ConsenSys noted that Ethereum’s transition to proof-of-stake would reduce the blockchain’s carbon footprint by 99.95%, a number that is in line with estimates provided by Ethereum developers last year. With this change, the Ethereum network will be about 2000 times more energy efficient than it is today.
NFT’s collection will include art created by Chris Skinner and animated by KeithCity Group. Blockchain marketing agency Invisible North contributed to the design.
ConsenSys will start mining NFTs at 1:00 PM UTC on the date of the merge and will allow mining to continue for 72 hours.
NFT mining will be free, excluding gas or transaction fees, and users will be able to mine as many NFTs as they want. Ethereum contributors who are part of the Protocol Guild will also receive an airdrop featuring a collection of limited edition NFTs.
NFTs have historically been criticized for being environmentally harmful as the Ethereum blockchain previously relied on the energy-intensive process of mining.
Companies and brands such as Ubisoft, WWF, Minecraft, Discord and Sega have received backlash over the past year after announcing plans to release NFTs. Even Kickstarter, which chose Celo’s energy-efficient blockchain, faced criticism.
ConsenSys previously pursued energy-efficient NFTs in 2021, when it co-launched the Palm ecosystem on Ethereum.
While Ethereum’s transition to proof-of-stake will virtually eliminate the environmental impact of NFT mining, it is unclear whether it will be fully recognized by the public given the notoriety of past controversies over the issue.
Disclosure: At the time of writing, the author of this article owns BTC, ETH and other cryptocurrencies.