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President Biden's executive order on cryptocurrencies this week brought good and bad news for crypto. The good news is the US government acknowledged the need to support innovation in the industry. The bad news is the EO's long-term aim of reducing energy consumption.
Although digital currencies are virtual, top cryptos like Bitcoin have a very real-world impact. Digiconomist data predict Bitcoin will use more than 200 TWh in 2022 – that's more than the energy consumption of Thailand. Data shows Bitcoin emits over 110 Mt of CO2 per year, equal to the annual consumption in the Czech Republic.
The world's second-biggest cryptocurrency, Ethereum, is not much better than Bitcoin as it consumes around 75 TWh per year. But not every blockchain platform is so energy-intensive. According to a report from the French crypto association, ADAN found the BNB Chain's annual energy consumption to be so low it had no measurement except 'negligible'.
The BNB Chain's native token (BNB) is the fourth-biggest cryptocurrency by market cap ($62 billion). BNB also powers the wider Binance ecosystem which includes the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange by volume. The Binance Smart Chain merged with the previous Binance Chain into the BNB Chain in early 2022.
The BNB Chain's low energy consumption is directly linked to its consensus model – a mix of proof of stake and proof of authority. Whereas there are thousands of Bitcoin miners and Ethereum validators the BNB Chain requires just 21 validator nodes to ensure the functioning of the network. It means there is some level of centralisation in the BNB Chain but also drastically reduced consumption of electricity.
Below are 5 tokens on the BNB Chain, including EverGrow Coin, PancakeSwap, Chainlink, and more.
Current price: $377
Current market cap: $62 billion
BNB is the native token of the Binance ecosystem. It quickly rose to become major crypto since Binance's launch in 2018 and sits with a market cap smaller only than Tether, Ethereum, and Bitcoin.
Current price: $0.0000004733
Current market cap: $250 million
EverGrow Coin is a rewards token that launched on the BNB Chain in September last year. EverGrow Coin holders receive daily rewards in the native Binance stablecoin BUSD, financed by an 8% tax on all EverGrow Coin transactions. EverGrow Coin is the smallest BNB Chain token on this list but is fast growing as it launches the world's first crypto native content subscription platform to rival OnlyFans and Patreon. The platform, called Crator, will accept BNB, BUSD, and EverGrow Coin with any profits pumped back into rewards for investors by strategic coin burns. EGC recently passed $35 million in BUSD rewards.
Current price: $5.47
Current market cap: $1.5 billion
PancakeSwap is a decentralised finance (DeFi) application that allows users to exchange tokens on the BNB Chain. It launched in September 2020 and allows users to trade against a liquidity pool. This liquidity pool is filled by users who deposit funds into the pool in return for CAKE tokens as a reward. Users can also stake CAKE to earn more CAKE or other tokens.
Current price: $13.2
Current market cap: $6.1 billion
ChainLink is a blockchain abstraction layer that allows smart contracts and interaction between blockchains. In 2022 LINK holders will be able to stake to secure the network and earn rewards.
Current price: $1.26
Current market cap: $606 million
SXP is the native token of Swipe. SXP is used to pay transaction fees and secure the Swipe network with its goal of creating global payment cards for both fiat and cryptocurrencies. In July 2020 Binance acquired Swipe for an undisclosed sum.
