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Opinions on Sustainability of Smart Cities in the Context of Energy Challenges Posed by Cryptocurrency Mining

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  • Oluwaseun Fadeyi

    (Center for Basic and Applied Research, Faculty of Informatics and Management, University of Hradec Kralove, Rokitanskeho 62, 500 03 Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic
    Department of Geology, Faculty of Geography and Geosciences, University of Trier, 54296 Trier, Germany)

  • Ondrej Krejcar

    (Center for Basic and Applied Research, Faculty of Informatics and Management, University of Hradec Kralove, Rokitanskeho 62, 500 03 Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic)

  • Petra Maresova

    (Center for Basic and Applied Research, Faculty of Informatics and Management, University of Hradec Kralove, Rokitanskeho 62, 500 03 Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic)

  • Kamil Kuca

    (Center for Basic and Applied Research, Faculty of Informatics and Management, University of Hradec Kralove, Rokitanskeho 62, 500 03 Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic
    Malaysia-Japan International Institute of Technology, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia Kuala Lumpur, Jalan Sultan Yahya Petra, Kuala Lumpur 54100, Malaysia)

  • Peter Brida

    (Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology, University of Zilina, 01026 Zilina, Slovakia)

  • Ali Selamat

    (Center for Basic and Applied Research, Faculty of Informatics and Management, University of Hradec Kralove, Rokitanskeho 62, 500 03 Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic
    Malaysia-Japan International Institute of Technology, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia Kuala Lumpur, Jalan Sultan Yahya Petra, Kuala Lumpur 54100, Malaysia
    Media and Games Center of Excellence (MagicX), Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Skudai 81310, Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia)

Abstract

Next to climate change on the list of challenges faced by humankind in today’s technological age is energy management. While “ smart ” ideas continue to gather momentum as some of the ways earmarked to combat the menace of a changing climate, coupled with efficient management of energy, research and development in the blockchain is not retracting, recently giving rise to digital currencies capable of fueling massive energy consumption via mining of “ crypto-coins ”. Given that sustainability is a crucial goal in the design of smart cities nowadays, there are currently no assurances of sustainable cities where cryptocurrency mining is at full scale. Nevertheless, alternative energy sources may come to the rescue in no distant time. In this paper, we contextualize energy-use in smart cities through mining of virtual currencies, in order to predict whether or not smart cities can truly be sustainable if crypto-mining is sustained. An attempt is also made to emphasize the possible ways of reducing energy use and all activities involving digital currencies by seeking to replace “Proof of Work” (PoW) with improved alternatives.

Suggested Citation

  • Oluwaseun Fadeyi & Ondrej Krejcar & Petra Maresova & Kamil Kuca & Peter Brida & Ali Selamat, 2019. "Opinions on Sustainability of Smart Cities in the Context of Energy Challenges Posed by Cryptocurrency Mining," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-20, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2019:i:1:p:169-:d:301567
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