In his answer to Three Arrows Capital CEO Zhu Su who asked about his ideas for a Dogecoin/Ethereum cooperation, Buterin, who is credited for developing the leading blockchain platform for decentralized applications, suggested that DOGE should consider switching from a proof-of-work (PoW) protocol to proof-of-stake (PoS). Proof-of-work and proof-of-stake Proof-of-work (PoW), the same protocol that flagship cryptocurrency Bitcoin (BTC) uses to confirm transactions on the blockchain is criticized for the intensive amount of energy it requires to verify transactions on the digital ledger. Proof-of-stake involves randomly selected miners who stake–or commit tokens to the blockchain to confirm transactions. PoS advocates argue that this reduces high electricity usage and hardware costs, as well as discourage illicit behaviors. In May, Buterin commented that he sees Ethereum’s shift to the PoS model as a way to reduce the enormous carbon footprint of cryptocurrencies. Prior to his statement, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said that his electric car company is no longer accepting Bitcoin as payment due to the environmental implications of mining the benchmark cryptocurrency. “Proof-of-stake is a solution to the [environmental issues] of Bitcoin—which needs far less resources to maintain,” Buterin said. The anticipated Ethereum 2.0 upgrade is set to change the blockchain’s consensus mechanism from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake. The Ethereum foundation said that if the switch is successful, Ethereum can reduce its energy usage by up to 99.95%. Dogecoin Foundation blockchain and crypto advisor Buterin’s suggestion for DOGE came after joining the advisory board of the Dogecoin Foundation last month. The non-profit organization formed a small group of advisors to serve as allies and advocates of the Shiba Inu-themed cryptocurrency. Buterin serves as the blockchain and crypto advisor. The three other members of the advisory board are Neuralink CEO Jared Birchall, who serves as the legal and financial advisor; Dogecoin core developer Max Keller, who serves as technical advisor; and Dogecoin co-creator Billy Markus, who serves as the community and memes advisor.
