Bitcoin’s energy consumption is a hot topic. The biggest question? Can Bitcoin be made sustainable?

The short answer? Yes. 

The Hemi Network is a Layer 2 blockchain that leverages Bitcoin’s security while improving its sustainability. Let’s explore how Hemi Network’s technology and design can reduce Bitcoin’s environmental impact.

Bitcoin’s Energy Problem: A Deeper Look

The Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index estimates that Bitcoin mining consumes over 100 TWh in electricity per year—about the same amount as the whole of the Netherlands.

Bitcoin proponents like us can certainly argue that this level of electricity consumption is favorable to central bank settlement, that the numbers are misleading, and even that Bitcoin mining can increase demand for sustainable energy. Regardless, the public perception remains that the Bitcoin blockchain is wasteful. Bitcoin’s level of energy consumption has drawn the ire of ESG-focused groups, put pressure on politicians and regulators to clamp down, and given green-minded consumers pause. 

Therefore, Bitcoin’s energy use is a barrier to mainstream adoption.

Hemi Network’s Proof-of-Proof: A More Efficient Consensus

Of course, Bitcoin’s high hashrate isn’t designed to be wasteful. In exchange for electricity, the network delivers decentralized security; Bitcoin is nearly impossible to tamper with, making it the world’s most reliable form of digital proof. 

The challenge, then, is using the network as efficiently as possible and extending its benefits while mitigating its carbon footprint.

That’s what the Hemi Network does. Hemi is designed to inherit Bitcoin’s security in a decentralized and permissionless manner—but move transaction execution away from Bitcoin. It uses a lightweight consensus algorithm called Proof-of-Proof to do so.

After each new Hemi block is created, proof-of-proof miners on Hemi create a cryptographic proof that is sent to the Bitcoin network, where it’s published like any other transaction. That is, the proof representing a whole block of Hemi transactions takes up just a small sliver of a Bitcoin block. Thus, Hemi transactions don’t require additional Bitcoin mining and, in fact, allow much more data to be processed without any extra electricity use.

Scaling Bitcoin’s Security, Not Its Energy

Hemi’s L2 architecture and built-in Bitcoin awareness also allow it to extend Bitcoin’s security to other networks and apps so they can confirm cross-chain transactions that have achieved full Bitcoin finality. Simply put, Hemi expands Bitcoin’s utility and reach while reducing its carbon footprint.

By inheriting and reusing Bitcoin’s hashrate to secure orders of magnitude more transactions, the Hemi Network aims to reduce Bitcoin’s per-transaction consumption from ~800 kWh to less than 0.1 kWh.

A Greener Future for Bitcoin?

Bitcoin has been pilloried, sometimes unfairly, for its electricity consumption. Hemi allows it to put the issue to rest by exponentially boosting the network’s energy efficiency. Unlike rival blockchain networks, Hemi does this without sacrificing security or decentralization.

A greener Bitcoin will attract more users and investors while dampening criticisms from politicians, regulators, and ESG groups. With the right efficiency gains, a Bitcoin-Hemi combo can create an on-chain ecosystem with a lower carbon footprint than the traditional financial system, even at scale.

Hemi’s innovative approach is a step toward secure sustainability.

To get more context on Hemi’s consensus mechanism, read the whitepaper and the relevant documentation or stop by the team’s Discord.