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After Ethereum's Merge, which slashed its energy use by 99.95%, attention turned to Chia's "green" mining. Unlike Ethereum's former proof-of-work, Chia uses proof-of-space, relying on hard drives. Critics claim this creates e-waste, as mining wears out SSDs in weeks—40 days for a 512GB drive, per reports. This sparked shortages and price surges in 2021. However, Chia's defenders argue it uses 200-500 times less power than Bitcoin or Ethereum pre-Merge, and proper hardware choices mitigate wear. The e-waste issue may be overstated, as mining stabilizes and manufacturers adapt warranties. While not perfect, Chia's environmental impact is arguably less severe than critics suggest, especially compared to traditional crypto mining's carbon footprint. 0 reply
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