What Is Green Cryptocurrency and Is It Worth Investing?

If you are new to the world of cryptocurrencies, it may surprise you how many are available today. Then, when you hear terms like “green cryptocurrency,” you might be more confused about investing than ever. Luckily, understanding what green cryptocurrencies are is fairly easy once you know what makes them different from other options like Bitcoin.

What is Green Cryptocurrency?

By and large, a green cryptocurrency is any digital token that does not require mining to validate transactions or discover new coins. Mining is a resource-heavy endeavor. It usually involves power hungry computers, putting a substantial burden on the power grid. Without mining, the cryptocurrency is “greener” than other options.

Some cryptocurrencies, like Bitcoin, use a “Proof of Work” concept for validations, which commonly involves mining.

However, many other coins use alternate or hybrid approaches. This makes them less dependent on energy to complete the process, essentially making them green alternatives to those that use mining.

Examples of Green Cryptocurrencies

While the energy use involved in validating each cryptocurrency varies, many require less than options like Bitcoin. Here are a few that many would consider greener:

• Ripple
• Ethereum
• IOTA
• Skycoin
• Nano
• Lisk

All of the options above use something other than proof of work for validations, and the variants they chose are far less demanding from an energy standpoint.

A few of the coins even go a step further. For example, EnergyCoin and SolarCoin don’t just use green processes; they are also designed to support the construction of solar farms. This gives additional clout to their less energy-intensive validation approach as they are also helping other green initiatives.

Bitcoin Green, which is not a fork off of Bitcoin, also embraces greener methods for transactions, abandoning the proof of work paradigm used by Bitcoin in favor of a proof of stake approach that uses masternodes to keep the network secure.

Should You Invest in Green Cryptocurrencies?

Where you choose to invest your money is often a personal decision. Cryptocurrencies, in general, can be very risky, mainly because of the high levels of volatility and the uncertainty surrounding the cryptocurrency market. Plus, cryptocurrency scams are fairly common, adding to the risk.

Before you invest in any cryptocurrency, including green cryptocurrencies, you need to make sure that you are comfortable with the level of risk. Emerging regulations could impact their potential greatly. However, interest by retailers, financial institutions, and other organizations could increase their viability as well.

Ultimately, if you think you want to add green cryptocurrencies to your portfolio, it is best only to invest what you can stand to lose. This is not the place for your retirement savings as the climate means that gains are incredibly uncertain.

However, if you want to diversify your portfolio and are willing to take a chance, then it may be worth a try. Just realize that there is no guarantee that cryptocurrency values will hit the same levels as were seen toward the end of 2017 or even grow at all. In fact, many may fail outright, so the possibility of losing your entire investment is very real.

Do you invest in green cryptocurrency? Share your experience in the comments below.

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