Ripple Co-Founder (as well as its former CEO) Chris Larsen, who is currently Executive Chairman of Ripple’s board of directors, is backing a new campaign to transition Bitcoin from proof-of-work (PoW) network to proof-of-stake.
According to a report by Bloomberg, Larsen, alongside several climate activist groups including Greenpeace, is launching a new campaign called “Change the Code, Not the Climate.” The campaign is designed to raise awareness for the environmental effects of Bitcoin and put pressure on the community to transition to a proof-of-stake model.
The report claims Bitcoin’s network, which has been maligned for its energy inefficiency, currently consumes as much power as Sweden. Larsen, speaking in an interview with Bloomberg, said that consumption could increase to the same amount of power as Japan within five years.
The campaign intends to purchase ads over the next month to spread its message, in addition to mobilizing “millions of members” of Greenpeace and Environmental Working Group for a grassroots push against Bitcoin.
Michael Brune, who is in charge of the campaign, told Bloomberg:
We are in this campaign for the long haul, but we are hoping — particularly since Bitcoin is now being financed by entities and individuals who care about climate change — that we can compel leadership to agree that this is a problem that needs to be addressed.
Brune listed a number of companies that the campaign intends to garner support from, including Goldman Sachs, BlackRock and PayPal.
Larsen, noting Ethereum’s plans to switch to proof-of-stake in the coming months, called Bitcoin an “outlier.” He noted that newer protocols, such as Solana and Cardano, have been built on low energy technologies. Larsen is reportedly putting $5 million towards funding the campaign.
Larsen was immediately criticized by several prominent members of the crypto community, such as Messari founder Ryan Selkis and Casa Co-Founder and CTO Jameson Lopp:
Disclaimer
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