Ethereum is solidifying itself as a top cryptocurrency because of how easy it is to execute transactions without needing a bank.

But those transactions consume a lot of power … and I mean a lot. Ethereum’s energy consumption could power a small European nation!

It’s been a pain point for the emerging crypto. But that could change soon.

In this episode of The Bull & The Bear, I share a big event coming for Ethereum that will significantly cut that energy usage down.

I also reached out to my colleague and crypto expert, Ian King, for his own insights. He’s been pinpointing winning crypto trends for years. He knows his stuff.

Let’s see what it means for the future of this top cryptocurrency — and if Ethereum is a buy before or after the event.

Ethereum Is a Power Hungry Crypto

According to Digiconomist.net, one transaction in Ethereum uses 238.2 kilowatt-hours of power. By comparison, 100,000 Visa transactions consume only 148.6 kWh.

Annually, Ethereum could use up to 106.12 terawatt-hours of energy this year. That’s only slightly less that all the energy consumed in the Netherlands (111 TWh) in all of 2020.

But an upcoming event will change that.

“The Merge” Is Big for Ethereum and All Cryptocurrencies

Since its inception in July 2015, Ethereum has relied on what’s called proof-of-work.

This is where miners (computers) have to solve mathematical puzzles to validate transactions on the blockchain and create new coins. It takes a massive amount of energy for these computers to solve these puzzles, as you can see in this chart:

The amount of time (terahash) it takes to mine Ethereum has increased 530% since 2020, meaning it takes a ton of power to just mine one coin.

In the coming months, Ethereum will migrate to a proof-of-stake concept. It allows users to validate transactions according to the number of coins they contribute, rather than how much they mine.

It’s billed as “The Merge,” as both concepts (proof-of-work and proof-of-stake) — which are currently running simultaneously — will merge.

It will significantly alter the cryptocurrency universe.

What does all of this mean for you, the smart investor?

In this episode of The Bull & The Bear, I tell you more about The Merge and give you the best way to profit from it within the crypto space.

Note: When I saw this Ethereum news, the first person I reached out to was my colleague and crypto expert, Ian King.

Ian has years of experience tracking and trading this unpredictable and volatile crypto market.

But there’s opportunity within the volatility … and the right crypto picks have the potential to deliver incredible gains in a few months.

Ian gave his readers an opportunity to do just that last year with a top crypto pick. In fact, they had a chance to cash out big gains three different times!

The first partial trade was for a 261% gain in only 45 days … selling the second part netted his readers a 3,900% gain in three months … and they were able to get out of the final third for a whopping 18,325% gain in 13 months!

Talk about life-changing wealth!

That seems like a once-in-a-lifetime trade, but Ian’s entire crypto model portfolio has been averaging 654% gains in about 19 months since 2018.

And he’s always looks for new opportunities. To find out how you can follow Ian’s crypto insights as this exciting asset establishes itself in the free market, click here to watch his “Crypto’s Third Wave” presentation.

If you want to invest in crypto, Ian is your guy. Click here to see why now.

The Bull & The Bear

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Safe trading,

Clark_Sig

Matt Clark, CMSA®
Research Analyst, Money & Markets

Matt Clark is the research analyst for Money & Markets. He is a certified Capital Markets & Securities Analyst with the Corporate Finance Institute and a contributor to Seeking Alpha. Prior to joining Money & Markets, he was a journalist and editor for 25 years, covering college sports, business and politics.