This article is a guest post by Jane Marsh, Editor-in-chief of Environment.co. All views/opinions/suggestions are that of the guest writer. This Website may or may not subscribe to them.
Cryptocurrency sheds several weaknesses of fiat currency when technology gets applied to fiscal policy. As a recordkeeping tool in business, blockchain is equally potent and could dramatically streamline previously lengthy or wasteful bureaucratic processes.
Anyone familiar with cryptocurrency knows it has weaknesses of its own, though. Environmental concerns are one of the most significant of these. Is it possible to mine cryptocurrency in a green and ethical fashion? If so, what role will the Internet of Things (IoT) play in this shift?
Can The IoT Mine For Coins?
The discussion of using the IoT to mine for cryptocurrencies emerged a few years ago. It arrived mostly in the form of a warning: Bad actors could compromise IoT devices and turn them into a distributed coin mining network.
Crypto mining requires powerful CPUs and substantial amounts of energy. Is it even possible to use IoT devices to mine for cryptocurrencies?
Mirai is a household name in cybersecurity, but it’s mostly synonymous with DDoS attacks. Investigations by IBM in 2017 yielded evidence that subsequent Mirai cyberattacks were designed to deploy Bitcoin miner slaves on compromised IoT equipment. IBM did not reach concrete conclusions about the likely effectiveness of harnessing IoT devices, but the concept is fascinating.
Are there other ways the IoT, crypto, and blockchain can influence each other’s performance?
The Impact Of IoT On Crypto Mining
Not long after IBM’s findings, Avast reached a similar conclusion: Using the IoT in this way isn’t just possible but potentially lucrative. Avast estimated that attackers could use 15,000 IoT gadgets at once to mine about $1,000 in crypto in four days.
Using thousands of locations could lessen a single crypto mining operation’s total power draw and environmental impact. One anecdotal story featured a tech blogger setting and forgetting her IoT devices and coming back to find they’ve generated tokens in the background worth thousands of dollars in just over a year.
Using routers and hotspots as networks and crypto mining hubs is an interesting prospect where efficiency and greenness are concerned. After this individual wrote about her experience, the backlog for the hotspot device in question rose to 150,000 units. Compared to pricy CPUs and GPUs, the hotspot’s $400 price tag makes it attractive for hobbyist miners who don’t want to spend tons of money on cooling systems and video cards.
Technologies Making Mining Greener
Making crypto mining greener is no small feat. A single Bitcoin transaction requires about 1,544 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity. The equivalent power could keep the average American household running for more than 50 days. The total power draw for the Bitcoin network could be as high as 75 terawatt-hours (TWh) per year.
Smarter climate control technologies are one solution. Mining operations can achieve more granular control over their environments with ductless and mini-split systems. It’s far easier to place these units precisely where you need them, and a single outdoor condenser can power multiple cooling units. These appliances could result in substantial energy savings for crypto miners.
Electricity is the great bottleneck for crypto mining as things currently stand. The goals of national and international leaders prioritize the construction of resilient smart grids, which rely on the IoT to achieve a two-way flow of power and data.
Building a more resilient and capable energy grid using renewables and the IoT provides opportunities for crypto miners. Some larger-scale operations are setting up shop in areas that already produce a lot of solar and wind power. Other miners work at night to offset their operations’ outsized impact on energy consumption during peak demand hours.
In the case of one Texas mining operation, shutting down for just 30 minutes at a time during the hottest and most grid-taxing days netted them a profit on their energy consumption. They could “throttle their operations up as much as the circuit boards could handle” at night while selling their contracted power supplies back to their utility company.
The downsides of generating electricity from fossil fuels are well documented. Applying the IoT to the power grid is the first step toward deploying renewables more widely.
Blockchain and IoT: A Fruitful Combination
The IoT and crypto have found interesting ways to complement each other and bolster each other’s weaknesses. Research and discussion are well underway on different ways combining the IoT and blockchain may yield fruitful outcomes.
IoT devices rely on the high-speed exchange and analysis of data in the field. Applying blockchain here could ensure higher reliability of the system and greater security for the transmitted data. Autonomy is vital for efficiency’s sake in business: With blockchain fueling IoT interactions, devices can interact directly with one another without involving remote servers.
The technologies powering IoT and crypto play off and bring out the best in each other.
Image by 3D Animation Production Company from Pixabay
About The Author
Jane works as the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Environment.co. She covers topics on energy and green technology.