Technology students from Illinois make cryptocurrency more efficient

[ad_1]

As the popularity of digital currencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum and Litecoin continues to grow, the carbon footprint of cryptocurrency mining has also increased, with Bitcoin mining alone reaching an annual energy consumption level of 55. TWh in 2018.

To remove this barrier to the widespread adoption of cryptocurrencies and make them more environmentally sustainable, a group of computer science and engineering students from the Illinois Institute of Technology has developed a cryptocurrency called GiGi, which aims to serve as a model for cryptocurrencies to energy efficient that can compete with the transaction speeds of other payment processing methods such as credit cards.

According to a university press release, the cohort of students – dubbed Team GiGi – submitted their prototype at last month’s inaugural Grainger Computing Innovation Prize competition, which encouraged 25 research groups of students to devise creative technology solutions for challenges. global such as climate change and the development of smart infrastructure. The group won the $ 15,000 first prize for their concept.

“Digital currencies like Bitcoin are here to stay, but they currently have a disproportionate carbon footprint and low transaction speed,” team leader and computer science student Gabriel Bryk said in a public statement. “Our new GiGi digital currency, Green LightnInG coIn, increases transaction throughput across larger blocks with smaller block times and achieves energy efficiency on par with centralized solutions using an improved space proof algorithm leveraging XSearch to protect digital currency “.

According to Illinois Tech computer science professor Ioan Raicu, faculty mentor of Team GiGi, the group’s prototype hard drive is intended to make digital currency more accessible through its “space proof” model, which they chose to in favor of “space-proof”. of-stake ”currently being tested on the blockchain for Ethereum.

“One of the biggest problems with [many types of] cryptocurrency and blockchain is that they use an algorithm called “proof of work”, which is very expensive in terms of energy consumption. This is one of the biggest problems with cryptocurrencies in terms of sustainability, “he said.” It cannot continue to grow and become widely adopted if it continues to consume so much electricity to protect the grid.

“With proof of mail, it basically means that you will put a lot of money in coins as collateral, which means that the richer you are, the more money you will make from the system,” he continued. “So, the approach the students took was this test of space, a third approach that tries to remember the work they do in order to archive it and look for it later.”

Runner-up, Waste Allocation Load Compressor, won second prize of $ 10,000 for developing a smart, cost-effective waste compressor that reduces road and water pollution. The $ 5,000 third prize went to a group of students working to develop a digital platform that connects victims of sexual assault to support services on college campuses. The prizes were awarded through an endowment from the Grainger Foundation.

Raicu said the team hopes to continue developing their technology solution in the months to come with the help of the prize money and will soon seek support from the National Science Foundation and other investors to continue their research and develop the prototype. .

He said the goal is to help spur the “third wave” of cryptocurrency technology to encourage others to move to the proof-of-space model.

“They have a working prototype, so I think that’s half the battle,” he said. “The more coins come out that solve these energy efficiency problems, the more the bigger coins will notice. And if the smaller coins show that this is a viable solution, I believe the larger coins will all go through proof of work. ”

Brandon Paykamian is a staff writer for Government Technology. He has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from East Tennessee State University and years of experience as a media reporter, focusing primarily on public education and higher education.

See more Brandon Paykamian stories

[ad_2]