Green Blockchains | Top 10 Carbon-Negative Green Blockchains (2024)

In recent years, blockchains have significantly impacted various business sectors. However, cryptocurrencies get a bad rap for their carbon footprint. The largest cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, is estimated to consume 150 terawatt-hours of energy annually; this exceeds Argentina’s usage. However, not all cryptocurrencies are power hogs. While some cryptocurrencies—particularly older ones—use a lot of processing power, there are also greener, carbon-negative green blockchain options.

Many eco-friendly cryptos use the Proof-of-Stake (PoS) model, unlike the Proof-of-Work (PoW) model used by coins like Bitcoin to create blocks and keep track of their state. Blockchains that are eco-friendly are likely to gain in popularity due to the growing awareness of the need to reduce our environmental footprint.

Based on how much energy each cryptocurrency consumes, we ranked the top carbon-negative green blockchains to help you decide on the one you can invest in. So let’s get started.

1. IMPT

IMPT has received lots of attention in the eco-friendly cryptocurrency space for its innovative exchange of carbon credits. Anyone can trade carbon credits because IMPT has set them up as NFTs on the Polygon blockchain. The IMPT token is used in all market transactions inside the IMPT ecosystem. The IMPT token can be used to purchase, sell, and exchange carbon credits and acts as the basis for a self-sustaining market. These carbon credits can be availed by users to get credits for regular transactions.

More than 10,000 well-known companies, including Nike, Samsung, and Amazon, have joined IMPT and committed a portion of their profit margin to worthwhile initiatives. This indicates that IMPT users will receive IMPT tokens as compensation for purchasing items and services from these businesses.

2. Algorand

Algorand is one of many carbon-negative green blockchains competing with Ethereum to demonstrate value and verify currency. Its blockchain operates on Pure Proof-of-Stake (PPOs) and smart contracts. Algorand attempts to alter the game regarding blockchain sustainability by building a network that emits no carbon emissions and does not rely on mining as a means of operation.

Each transaction in Algorand’s PoS network uses 0.0000004 kg of CO2. This means the annual energy requirements are roughly the same as just seven average households. Furthermore, this cryptocurrency has a partnership with ClimateTrade, a firm that aids businesses in becoming more sustainable.

3. Hedera (HBAR)

One of the few green cryptocurrencies, Hedera, uses a novel “hashgraph” algorithm rather than the more common “blockchain” technology. This algorithm stores data in “hashes” rather than blocks. By employing this strategy, the Hedera network usage accelerated, and more users are utilizing it. This means that Hedera, extremely scalable and ecologically responsible, is a competitive option for the best Proof-of-Stake coins. One of the main focuses of Hedera is to offer carbon-negative and sustainable DLT, which is why the team works with prominent social company Terrapass to buy carbon offsets.

For instance, the team bought offsets for 17 tonnes of CO2 in Q3 2022, equal to driving 3.7 passenger automobiles for a whole year. With this strategy, Hedera wants to establish itself as one of the top carbon-negative green blockchains.

4. Cardano

Cardano is one of the most well-known green blockchains. Cardano is a programmable environment for dealing with issues in the real world. Cardano, unlike Ethereum, does not require users to mine new coins to join the network. Due to this, each transaction saves roughly 0.5 kWh. On average, Cardano consumes 0.01 percent less energy for the same transaction as Bitcoin.

5. Tezos

Through prominent alliances over the past year with Manchester United and McLaren Racing, Tezos has established a brand for itself and helped bring attention to this intriguing go-green blockchains notion. The Tezos development team recently highlighted ambitions at the TezDev Conference. They aim to build the network to handle an astonishing one million transactions per second (TPS) in the future years.

Every month, the Tezos team even offers accurate emissions data for the blockchain, showing a definite downward trend in emissions over time. Since the Tezos network consumes the same amount of energy annually as just 17 people worldwide, Tezos can be considered one of the sustainable and carbon-negative green blockchains.

6. Ethereum

Ethereum is another one of the greenest blockchains to be aware of. For a long time, Ethereum relied on the energy-intensive “mining” process known as “Proof-of-Work” (PoW) to secure the network. But lately, Ethereum switched to the “Proof-of-Stake” (PoS) consensus method, which consumes much less energy.

Since the network now utilizes 99.9% less energy than it did previously, Ethereum has been predicted to be the next cryptocurrency to take off. Furthermore, the Ethereum team is focused on sustainability and refers to the network as a “green blockchain”.

7. Solana

One of the few cryptocurrency projects that aim to enhance the services provided by the Ethereum network is called Solana. Like Ethereum, Solana is a blockchain that supports smart contracts and serves as a platform for NFT and decentralized app (dApp) developers. However, Solana is far more scalable because of its distinct consensus mechanism.

Because this algorithm combines PoS and “Proof-of-History,” the Solana network can supposedly manage 65,000 TPS at less than a cent per transaction. Solana can also be considered an environmentally friendly blockchain since a single Solana transaction uses only 3,290 Joules of electricity, equivalent to fewer than four Google searches to put things in context.

8. Chia (XCH)

Due to the distinctive consensus mechanism used by this blockchain, many researchers think Chia is one of the cryptocurrencies with the greatest potential. The ‘Proof-of-Space-and-Time’ strategy is one that Chia’s team has created in place of a PoW or PoS protocol. This strategy ensures that Chia is more available and that the network uses the least energy possible.

The Chia blockchain may validate transactions using free space on HDDs and SDDs via Proof-of-Space-and-Time. On these storage devices, network users “plot”, 10GB worth of “hashes,” which are then used to validate blocks. According to the Chia website, this approach means that the network uses just 0.16% of Bitcoin’s annual energy consumption.

9. SolarCoin

Due to its exclusive focus on solar energy, SolarCoin holds a distinctive place on our list of carbon-negative green blockchains? that are beneficial to the environment. Statista reports that between 2009 and 2019, global investments in solar energy technologies more than doubled, demonstrating the growing appeal of this energy source.

By paying consumers SLR tokens when they install solar panels, the company behind SolarCoin hopes to make solar energy completely free. The term “Solarity” refers to when it becomes “free” to produce solar energy once the value of SLR tokens exceeds the cost of solar energy production.

10. Polkadot

Although Polkadot has a reputation for being one of the most volatile cryptocurrencies available, investors continue to favor it because of its low-power strategy. Polkadot is a cutting-edge technology that encourages blockchain interoperability. The relay chain, the protocol’s central hub, can process transactions from chains around it.

The surrounding chains, also known as parachains, are essential blockchains with particular use cases. Since the relay chain handles all verification, developers on these parachains can focus solely on expanding the network rather than its security.

What made them Carbon-Negative Green Blockchains?

Every new cryptocurrency project claims to be environmentally friendly, but there is a significant distinction between those that claim to be and those that are. It cannot be denied that blockchain networks need electricity. Since there is no way to avoid this, the most innovative blockchains have been working on ways to reduce their electricity consumption for the past few years. These blockchains can lessen (or eliminate) their carbon impact by reducing the electricity consumed.

Although most of the top altcoins currently use a PoS protocol, others go even further. Solana, for instance, employs a “hybrid” protocol that enables the network to be environmentally benign while still being extremely scalable. As one of the best ways to offset CO2 emissions, Solana’s staff also actively lowers the network’s carbon footprint by funding refrigerant degradation.

Choosing Carbon-Negative Green Blockchains

In a nutshell, using technologies intended to lower electricity use is the primary attribute of eco-friendly cryptocurrencies. This strategy has gained popularity recently as PoW projects like Bitcoin and Litecoin have attracted less interest. Investors can increase their sustainability and reduce carbon footprint by selecting carbon-negative green blockchains. Every day, new cryptocurrencies are created and made available. Investors can take action to safeguard the environment while reaping the financial rewards from the blockchain.