Chia advertises itself as an eco-friendly alternative in the cryptocurrency industry. However, a closer look at Chia coin mining system shows otherwise.
Cryptocurrency is rapidly gaining popularity and value in the current society. Many consumers have shown their interest, especially in these last few weeks with Tesla accepting Bitcoins, the rise of NFT online selling, and even with Dogecoin chasing a $1 value mark.
Cryptocurrency flourishes for two specific reasons. First, its popularity involves a lot of market activity that helps cryptocurrencies expand their influence and increase monetary value. The second reason is that cryptocurrency can be created and mined online.
The New Eco-Friendly Coin
Fortune reported that the new cryptocurrency called Chia debuted into trading last week. The virtual coin Chia was created by a platform called Chia Network, and it advertises itself as a "green, eco-friendly" alternative to the most popular cryptocurrency in the market: Bitcoin.
Mining cryptocurrencies take a lot of electricity because it involves a lot of online computational work. Newscientist added that Bitcoin's annual electricity consumption takes around 148 terawatt-hours and more, amounting to the same electrical consumption the whole country of Poland and its residents' uses combined.
Chia serves as an eco-friendly alternative because it uses hard drives instead of the energy-intensive computer processors to store and compute their data. Hard drives prove to reduce energy consumption in its mining activities significantly.
Chia Coin Mining and Hard Disc Shortage
Unfortunately, the rise of Chia coins brings a spike in hard drive consumption in the market. Similar to the global chip shortage, Retail News noted that Asian countries like Vietnam report shortages of hard disc. This might be connected to China using around 3 million terabytes of hard disc space for Chia coin mining.
Hard drive manufacturers such as Jason Feist from Seagate said that its company and staff are working hard to "adjust to market demand." He also shared his understanding that cryptocurrencies are on the rise, similar to Filecoin and Sia, which are working on converting idle infrastructure to ongoing revenues.
Take note that Chia cryptocurrency remains a relatively new coin in the market. Therefore, it is hard to determine whether the currency would succeed or crash in the coming months. Son of a Tech said that Chia is unfortunately not listed in major exchanges. As it stands, Chia networks are only available in a limited ecosystem directly connected to its company.
This news, however, should serve as a warning sign for creators and gamers who might see inflated prices in these weeks to come. It is suggested to buy hard drives ahead before the demand on them goes any higher. Some retailers should have stocks available online.
Chia cryptocurrency markets itself to be eco-friendly by using the less energy-consuming hard drive, but unfortunately it causes anoother issue that needs to be addressed sooner rather than later: hard drive shortages.
