Ethereum, the second biggest cryptocurrency, is aiming to make cryptocurrency greener with the launch of its Merge update that will reduce Ethereum's energy consumption by around 99.95 per cent.


Cryptocurrencies have been accused of being wasteful and energy intensive in the ‘mining’ process – using banks of computers to try and decrypt the complex ciphers that ensure that supply of the currency is restricted and reward the owners of the systems that log and record the transactions.


The Merge is one of the most significant upgrades of Ethereum and will support not only the Ethereum currency but also the underlying blockchain that other crypto products like NFTs.


The adoption of Merge, linked to the Ethereum Proof of Work blockchain log, will integrate with the company’s Beacon Chain which in turn will run on a system called Proof of Stake. This system will cut the number of computers and computing power required to maintain the blockchain, reducing the energy used by a very large margin.


However, the changes will also reduce the money that miner can make. Although the change will make Ethereum greener, there is a worry that miners will simply move on to mine less green currencies such as Bitcoin.

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