Ethereum (ETH) will reduce its energy consumption by 99.95% within a few months as it transitions to a new infrastructure model.

The world's second largest cryptocurrency currently has a carbon footprint comparable to Sri Lanka, but the transition to Ethereum 2.0 will dramatically reduce its energy demand, according to a blog post from the project. It has not yet been determined when this change will take place, but the post states that it will happen "in the coming months."

Tesla announced last week that it will stop accepting Bitcoin (BTC) as payment for its environmentally friendly electric vehicles, in light of the environmental impact of cryptocurrency mining operations and the enormous energy demand required by some of the cryptocurrency's top performers Spotlight.

Bitcoin's proof-of-work consensus model requires high-powered computers, including specialized mining rigs, to constantly solve energy-intensive mathematical equations for the chance to earn BTC rewards. according to Digiconomist, bit The energy consumption of the entire coin mining network has skyrocketed in recent years, with a carbon footprint that rivals Portugal's.

Ethereum (ETH) also uses a proof-of-work consensus approach to mining, and while it does not consume as much power as Bitcoin, its estimated total consumption has tripled since its launch in 2021.

Fortunately, the outlook is bright. Ethereum 2.0 features a new proof-of-stake blockchain model that relies on validators holding tokens within the network. This eliminates the need for power-hungry PCs to mine ETH, and new estimates indicate that Ethereum 2.0 will be truly transformative.

According to the Ethereum Foundation, a non-profit organization that supports the research and development behind the blockchain, the Ethereum 2.0 upgrade will no longer require "a country's worth of electricity," dramatically reducing the network's energy demands.

According to the foundation's post on the matter, the Ethereum 2.0 proof-of-stake network could consume only about 2.62 megawatts. Not bad for a smart contract platform supporting a cryptocurrency that has a market capitalization of over $500 billion as of last week (it's much lower now) and is the backbone of decentralized finance (DeFi) apps, crypto games, and other services.

Put another way, the chart shared by the foundation suggests that if a single bitcoin transaction is as tall as the "Burj Khalifa" skyscraper in Dubai and the current Ethereum transaction is the Leaning Tower of Pisa, an ETH 2.0 transaction is as tall as a single 0.025m screw

However, the current ETH 2.0 transaction is the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

However, it remains to be seen when Ethereum 2.0 will be released. According to the post, a team of engineers is working overtime to ensure that The Merge, as the upgrade is called, "arrives as soon as possible," but even so, Ethereum 2.0 has been planned for years now.

Still, for those concerned about Ethereum's energy consumption, these estimates are a seemingly positive sign of eco-friendly change for the rising cryptocurrency.