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Can NFTs Be Environmentally Friendly?
A single crypto art can consume as much energy as a studio uses in two years. Can we have the best of both worlds? Are environmentally friendly NFTs a possibility?
NFTs have been around since 2014 but chances are you only started hearing about it last year. NFTs skyrocketed in popularity and had a good year in 2021. You might have heard of:
- Beeple: Artists selling their digital work e.g. Beeple’s First 5000 Days for $69 million in a Christie’s auction
- GameFi: Axie Infinity, the original breakthrough play-to-earn blockchain game, as well as other NFT games
- Bored Apes: Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC)’s popularity, particularly among celebrities like Stephen Curry, Shaquille O’Neal and Eminem
- Metaverse: The value of digital real estate and companies are buying land in virtual worlds like the Sandbox, Decentraland and Engine
It is clear to see NFTs dominated headlines throughout the year and continues to do so in 2022. But, there is a major problem lingering on the public’s mind: the climate controversy. While Web 3.0 infrastructure is expanding, investors and crypto enthusiasts are faced with questions around the environmental concerns of NFTs. What are the environmental impacts of buying and selling NFTs? Why does it matter? Why exactly do NFTs have such a high carbon footprint? Are there greener alternatives available? What does the future of NFTs look like? This article tackles each question. Let’s get started.
What are the environmental effects of NFTs?
Once an artist announces on Twitter that they’ll start doing NFTs, their comment section is filled with hate messages. Those messages criticize an artist for damaging the planet for the sake of making profits. But what does the science say? How does an NFT contribute to global warming?
It is not easy to calculate the carbon footprint of minting an NFT because of the steps involved in the process. However, a few studies on this topic have made estimations in this regard.
According to Digiconomist, one Ethereum transaction’s carbon footprint at 33.4 kg…
