Algorand rents Times Square billboard on Earth Day, but with a dark twist

The Algorand Foundation has rented the Times Square billboard in New York for Earth Day today, but the move comes with a dark twist.
Elsewhere, the Foundation has unveiled a new smart contract that takes a portion of each transaction fee and uses it to offset the network’s carbon emissions.

One of the biggest criticisms of cryptocurrencies, and the blockchain networks they run on, is their energy consumption. This attack has been so strong that even Elon Musk had to bow down from his BTC for Tesla payment scheme. This has made environmental conservation key for many blockchain networks, and Algoirand is taking it to a whole new level. The network has rented the Times Square billboard to tout its energy-efficient blockchain, but the move comes with a dark twist.

The Algorand Foundation, which promotes the growth of the proof-of-stake blockchain, revealed that today, April 21, it would be on Times Square. It will start off with a call to action to save the environment on the billboards.

Part of the message reads:

This Earth Day, Save energy. Unplug. Reconnect with our planet
Tomorrow, Build a greener future on Algorand.

At 8 p.m. ET, Algorand will unleash a dark twist, in this case literally. The billboard will go dark for an hour, which the Foundation says will save 6,500 kilowatt-hours of electricity, This would be enough to power 350 million transactions on the PoS blockchain network.

Speaking to one news outlet, the Foundation CEO Staci Warden commented:

We wanted to make a bold statement on a large platform to educate the general public that advances in blockchain technology like those employed at Algorand have made it more green and sustainable than the first generation proof-of-work blockchains, and definitely more green than traditional banking and finance rails.

Warden, who is a former executive director at America’s largest bank JPMorgan, believes that Algorand is setting the bar for other blockchain networks, showing them that “a blockchain can be energy-efficient and powerful enough to handle complex transactions at scale with finality and security.”

In more environmentally conscious developments, Algorand has unveiled a new smart contract that will ensure everyone who transacts on the network plays a part in climate change efforts. The contract will take up a small portion of each transaction fee and channel it towards purchasing carbon credits on ClimateTrade, a blockchain-based carbon credit trading platform.

Warden commented: