Bitaigen Research 
EWT surged 13.6 % in the past 24 hours, driven primarily by the launch of a clean‑energy certification platform created through a partnership between PayPal and EnergyWeb. The platform is expected to boost the outlook for green Bitcoin mining.
The high energy consumption of the Bitcoin network has long been a hot topic. According to the Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index, global Bitcoin miners consumed about 121.13 TWh of electricity in 2023 – the highest figure on record since 2010. That amount is roughly equivalent to Argentina’s total annual electricity usage and exceeds Belgium’s 93.8 TWh.
In this article we outline the clean‑energy certification platform jointly launched by PayPal and EnergyWeb, explore how it could accelerate the greening of Bitcoin mining, and analyze the market momentum generated for EWT. By combining data and industry perspective, readers can better grasp the opportunities and challenges behind green mining – a piece worth a careful read.
PayPal teams up with EnergyWeb to develop a “Clean‑Energy Certification Platform”
To encourage mining companies to adopt renewable power, PayPal’s blockchain research team collaborated with the non‑profit organization EnergyWeb, which focuses on energy transition, and with DMG Blockchain Solutions Inc. (DMG). Together they proposed a crypto‑economic incentive scheme designed to reward Bitcoin miners who use low‑carbon energy.
The core workflow of the proposal is as follows:
- Identify miners that source a sufficient proportion of low‑carbon energy.
- Obtain their public keys and tag them as green keys.
- Aggregate all green keys into a multi‑signature address (the payment address) that will be used to distribute Bitcoin‑denominated incentives to the miners.
- To give priority to green miners, the on‑chain transaction is broadcast with a low fee and includes an extra UTXO that locks a portion of Bitcoin in the multi‑sig payment address. Because the fee is low, most miners will ignore such transactions; only green miners who receive the additional incentive will be motivated to process them.
- When a green miner sees the transaction in the mempool, they must include both that transaction and an additional redemption transaction in the block they are mining, thereby consuming the locked UTXO. Successful inclusion yields a Bitcoin reward.
PayPal notes that the research aims to optimise and strengthen the existing network through novel crypto‑economic incentives. However, the paper provides limited detail on the size of the extra Bitcoin rewards, and it remains to be seen whether the incentives are sufficient to attract miners at scale. At present, miners worldwide continue to chase the cheapest energy sources; in some regions, renewable energy is less cost‑effective due to transportation constraints, leading miners to gravitate toward locations with energy surpluses.
EWT jumps 13.6 % in the last 24 hours
In response to the news, EnergyWeb’s token $EWT performed strongly. CoinGecko data shows $EWT rose more than 13.6 % over the past 24 hours, trading at $2.32 at the time of writing, with a market capitalisation that has now exceeded $116 million.
In 2022, global asset‑management giant BlackRock mentioned EnergyWeb while launching a private Bitcoin trust, noting that EnergyWeb was helping improve transparency around green Bitcoin mining. That endorsement already gave $EWT a noticeable price lift. In the same year, EnergyWeb introduced the Green Proofs for Bitcoin program, establishing a certification standard for miners using renewable electricity. Whether the new partnership with PayPal will broaden adoption among energy providers is a development worth monitoring.
$EWT 24‑hour price chart
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The above provides a complete analysis of EWT’s 13.6 % surge over the last 24 hours and the PayPal‑EnergyWeb clean‑energy certification platform initiative. For further related information, please follow other articles on Bitaigen (比特根).
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