PayPal suggests offering ‘cryptoeconomic’ incentives to eco-friendly Bitcoin miners

PayPal, the international payments giant, has put forward a proposal to incentivize sustainable Bitcoin mining by offering rewards to miners who use low-carbon energy sources. The company’s Blockchain Research Group, in collaboration with Energy Web and DMG Blockchain Solutions, aims to encourage the use of clean energy in Bitcoin mining through the use of “cryptoeconomic incentives.” Under the proposal, miners who use sustainable energy sources would receive special “green keys” associated with their public keys, and Bitcoin transactions would be prioritized to these miners by attaching lower fees and an additional locked BTC reward. This would incentivize profit-driven miners to operate with low-carbon energy sources in order to receive the extra BTC rewards. The proposed solution would leverage Energy Web’s “Green Proofs for Bitcoin” platform to certify miners based on their clean energy and grid impact scores. PayPal BRG has successfully tested the solution with DMG Blockchain Solutions Inc., observing its effectiveness under different transaction volumes. The company aims to achieve decentralization, ease of implementation, and trust independence while distributing incentives.