Prominent on-chain analytics provider Messari published a report in mid-August, praising Polkadot (DOT), alongside Tezos (XTZ), as the most environmentally-friendly Layer-1 blockchain.

Titled “The Regenerative Finance Movement,” the report analyzed the carbon footprint and energy consumption of several Proof-of-Work (PoW) and Proof-of-Stake (PoS) chains in the industry. The report also detailed the number of crypto projects transitioning to greener energy footprint options to boost their image.

It is worth mentioning that PoS chains are naturally more energy efficient than POW chains, making PoS Layer-1 networks the most preferred option for environmentally conscious developers and investors.

The Messari report further detailed that Bitcoin (BTC) consumes 89K gigawatt/ hour (GWh) per annum, roughly as much energy consumed by Pakistan in an entire year. The report also detailed that Ethereum (ETH) consumes 17K GWh per annum, more electricity than Cuba consumes in the same period. However, Ethereum plans on transitioning to a PoS system in September, meaning it would dramatically reduce its carbon footprint.

Messari further detailed that of the leading PoS blockchains, Solana (SOL) had the highest annual energy consumption at 1.9 GWh. Polkadot and Tezos topped the list of most efficient chains with modest yearly consumption of 0.1 GWh each. At the time, Messari noted via a tweet:

“The crypto industry is leaning into the green energy movement.

Through drastic programming overhauls and funding carbon offset projects, protocols are actively breaking down the stigma that crypto is harming the planet.”

Polkadot Bags New Update

More recently, DOT developers announced a successful implementation of a network update, which ushered in numerous performance enhancements for the already efficient network. The recent update pushed in the network is expected to help increase efficiency across the board. According to an official statement, the update will dramatically ease the load off validators thereby leading to more impressive parachain block times on test networks using the blockchain.

While this news has yet to have any effect on the price of DOT, its effects have been felt in network development activity. Statistics from Santiment show a notable surge in this area over the past few days. This uptick indicates a growing interest in the network by developers, which only leads to stronger network credibility and positive price movements.

Santiment also announced last week that Polkadot had recorded its highest spike in positive sentiment since January 2021, also describing the native token DOT as the second-fastest developing asset based on GitHub submissions.

That said, analysts are betting on a bullish turnaround for DOT in the near term, despite the ongoing market volatility.

DOT Price Analysis

This brings us to the present reality for DOT. Despite the positive factors mentioned above and other announcements from Polkadot over the past few days on numerous protocol integrations, the eleventh-largest cryptocurrency remains on the back foot. This is primarily due to the sentiment in the broader crypto market.

Regardless, DOT has held its position above the $6.80 mark, despite suffering an 8.7% plunge from the $7.68 region on Friday. Last week’s fall came after reactions from the US Fed Jackson Hole symposium, where Fed Chair Powell indicated that the central bank had no intentions of slowing down its tightening policy to subdue inflation.

Are the coming days going to be any easier for the cryptocurrency, given the growing strength of the dollar?

DOT Statistics Data

DOT Current Price: $6.95

DOT Market Cap: $7.71B

DOT Circulating Supply: 1.11B

DOT Total Supply: 1.22 B

DOT Market Ranking: #11

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Disclaimer
This article should not be taken as a piece of financial advice. It is essential to conduct your research before making investment decisions.