Green by Design? Investigating the Energy and Carbon Footprint of Chia Network

• URL: http://arxiv.org/abs/2604.13044v1
• Date: Thu, 05 Mar 2026 13:08:46 GMT
• Title: Green by Design? Investigating the Energy and Carbon Footprint of Chia Network
• Abstract summary: Chia Network (Chia for short) is a green-claimed blockchain, which uses a Proof of Space and Time (PoST) consensus mechanism.<n>Our results show that Chia claims to be a sustainable alternative to Proof-of-Work-based blockchains.<n>We combine experimental measurements from a controlled testbed with theoretical modeling of operational and embodied emissions to assess Chia's true sustainability profile.
• Score: 0.0
• License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Abstract: This paper presents a detailed analysis of the environmental impact of Chia Network (Chia for short), a green-claimed blockchain, which uses a Proof of Space and Time (PoST) consensus mechanism. While Chia claims to be a sustainable alternative to Proof-of-Work-based blockchains, our results show that its resource-intensive initialization phase and ongoing operations lead to carbon emissions 18x higher than claimed (0.88 MtCO2/year), exceeding mainstream "green" blockchains by orders of magnitude. We combine experimental measurements from a controlled testbed (Grid'5000) with theoretical modeling of operational and embodied emissions to assess Chia's true sustainability profile.

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