According to Cointelegraph Research’s original investigation into the most energy-efficient blockchains for nonfungible tokens (NFT), the Ethereum network is currently using more energy than Costa Rica does during an entire year. To put this into perspective, a single transaction on Ethereum uses roughly 30 kilowatt-hour, which is equivalent to powering a house in the United States for a whole day. 100 Ethereum transactions is equivalent to driving approximately 390 kilometers in a Tesla Model 3. However, Ethereum’s upcoming move to Eth2 will change all of this for the better.

In contrast, a transaction on Tezos takes 0.0016 kWh or less than the energy required to charge an Apple Tablet for 10 minutes. 100 Tezos transactions is equivalent to driving 10 km in a Tesla Model 3. The energy use of the entire Tezos network is approximately equivalent to two households in the U.S. for the whole year. One question, though, is how competing blockchains such as Tezos, Polkadot and Solana will perform on the market once Ethereum transitions to Eth2.

Blockchain energy consumption has been subject to intense debate. While NFTs are present on several blockchains, the new research report only compared energy consumption on two chains. Energy consumption is directly related to a blockchain’s consensus mechanism, where Ethereum represents proof-of-work (PoW) and Tezos is used as an example of proof-of-stake (PoS).

Download the full report here, complete with charts and infographics.

The results show that the Ethereum blockchain is significantly more energy-intensive than an…