Do we have something as environmentally sustainable NFTs? Lets find out..

Well, Non-fungible Tokens or simply NFTs are those emphatically unique or rare assets those cannot seem to be replaced with other similar items.

Mostly they represent collectibles, stored on blockchain with unique identification codes and metadata that distinguishes them from each other but at times can depict people’s identities or even property rights.

Why this happens?

“Tokenizing” these real-world tangible assets helps them to be bought, sold, and even traded more efficiently at lightning speeds while keeping their legitimacy and security intact.

NFTs have even found relevance to the Indian market where prestigious platforms like Nifty Gateway host some of these.

But ever since they rose to fame, it too became entangled into the debate of how a digital transaction i.e., mere exchanged binary codes from source to destination can have such a profound impact on climate change.

Just like cryptocurrencies, NFTs too were criticized because of the extremely energy-intensive process used to power them (or the Blockchain Blocks where they operate).

The recent trend of low carbon NFTs:

While the world leaders could boast of their own attempts at large scale to cut off carbon and other greenhouse gases emissions, it has come to the fore how the companies mining Cryptocurrencies based on Blockchains, are trying to source their energies from Renewables and even overproduced ones.

Well, that may be the vicious advertising, but we need to appreciate even such small steps towards sustainability.

As covered by TIW earlier: “While oil extraction, it can aim for annual reduction of emissions by absorbing 400 metric tons of carbon dioxide and the dry natural gas, an undesired gift by oil production as a by-product is utilized by bitcoin miners efficiently.”

Estimating the very potential this future holds, the State Governor of Wyoming in United States, has recently cleared-off a bill exempting the taxation on the very use of natural gas for cryptocurrency mining.

A similar working on the line is reflected by a tech company which is turning oil waste into cleaner form of energy that powers the crypto mining.

That has been taken to another level when it is to power the distribution of Anthony Hopkins’ new movie Zero Contact set to release next month as an NFT, hence to be called NFT with zero carbon footprint.

But with increasing frequency and intensity of the impacts of Climate change, NFT world is also changing, getting more Eco-conscious.

A few Experts negate the very impact NFTs have on the planet: “NFTs have relatively calculable carbon footprints compared to the production, sale, shipping, storage, and display of physical art”. However, acknowledging is never bad.

Various innovations in the field are providing better alternatives and many are only operating units for constant mining the coins at places with ample renewable resource so that there are minimal emissions made.

While an Israeli company is trying to make the system even more efficient. They have found a way to reduce their carbon impact of crypto mining and associated transactions by stuffing more information into each block of the blockchain.

Companies including Marvel and Disney who have planned to jump into the world of NFTs have already signed up for being a stakeholder of StarkWare’s technology, that claims to be capable of fitting “more than a million” NFTs within a single block.

“If you think of each block of a blockchain as something that is very carbon-emitting, because of all the mining that goes on, there are fixed costs, which are really, really large,” explains the co-founder of this company.

“Think of it like some airplane that spits out a lot of carbon.”

“But if instead of 100 people on an airplane you could fit 600,000 on an airplane, then even though the airplane is still emitting the same amount of carbon—which is bad—in terms of the footprint per person, it’s actually pretty, pretty decent. And that’s exactly where we come in.”

Therefore, using such a technology can help fulfil two approaches at a time: facilitate and trade in world chart holder NFTs as well as called out “being Carbon Neutral”.

It will be difficult to rewrite the narratives people have on their minds regarding NFTs and environmental impacts but as the NFTs expand into markets, our necessities may find their way to innovations.