If you’ve spent any time online in 2021, chances are you’ve heard the term “Web3” tossed around with increasing frequency.

That’s because there’s a fast-growing movement to build the next iteration of the internet—hence “Web3”—based (mostly) on the Ethereum blockchain. Enthusiasts say Web3 will usher in a new internet era where individual people can have more control over their data and experience and corporations could have less power. And while skepticism of Web3, and crypto more broadly, comes in many forms, one of the biggest criticisms is around its environmental footprint.

But, at least for Ethereum–based projects, that could soon change.

Currently, the annual carbon footprint of Ethereum transactions is comparable to the entire country of Norway, but a planned update could result in about 99.95% less energy consumption, according to the Ethereum Foundation.

How it works

Ethereum is decentralized, meaning that unlike a bank or other financial institution there is no one entity overseeing transactions. Instead, every computer within the network must agree on the record of transactions in order to keep the system secure. To achieve this, blockchains use a consensus mechanism.

Like bitcoin before it, Ethereum 1.0 was founded on a consensus mechanism called proof-of-work (PoW).

• PoW requires that individual computers within the network solve extremely complex math problems to create a new “block” and validate the transactions within it.
• The owner of the computer is rewarded in crypto for participating.
• This process is called “mining,” and it is energy-intensive by design—the need to use a large and costly amount of computing power deters individuals from tampering with the blockchain.

Proof-of-stake (PoS) is a different method to maintain consensus and the integrity of Ethereum.

With PoS, rather than contributing their computing power to performing complicated calculations, validators put up a portion of their own cryptocurrency tokens, creating an individual “stake” in keeping the ledger accurate. The penalty of losing those tokens if they try to mess with Ethereum’s security replaces the massive energy use as a deterrent, and thereby protects the system without generating as much greenhouse gas emissions.

What’s next: Buterin initially expected it would take about one year to implement PoS, but it’s more complex than a PoW model and transitioning the world’s largest smart-contract network to a new consensus mechanism while maintaining its stability is incredibly difficult.

The change—which is tied to a fundamental part of the blockchain’s security–was supposed to take place this year, but in early December it was pushed to 2022.

Click here to read the full story.—GD

If you’ve been paying attention to this newsletter, you know that this year has been a breathless march of records for venture funding.

Add another to the list: Future Meat Technologies, an Israel–based startup, just raised a $347 million Series B—the biggest-ever funding round for a cultivated-meat company.

• With the funds, the company will build out a 13,000-gallon production facility in the US, where it’s still waiting for regulatory approval.
• Future Meat is working on lamb, pork, chicken, and beef products based on cells harvested from already-slaughtered animals. Unlike other cultivated-meat startups, its tech doesn’t rely on stem cells.

Cultivated meat is buzzed about for its potential environmental benefits compared with traditional meat production, and because it can be a more health-conscious and less-cruel alternative. But it’s yet to be produced and sold at scale.

Back in June, the company opened what it claimed to be the world’s first “industrial” cultured-meat production plant. The facility has the capacity to produce the equivalent of 5,000 hamburgers each day. At the time, Future Meat CEO Ron Kshuk called the facility “a critical enabler to bring our products to shelves by 2022.”

Zoom out: This isn’t a one-off deal. This year alone, US–based startup Eat Just—which was first to market with cultivated meat—raised $267 million to scale its meat division. And Aleph Farms, another Israeli lab-grown-meat startup, raised $105 million.

Looking ahead: Meat consumption is not going to rapidly shift to lab-grown products overnight, if it ever does. McKinsey predicts cultivated meat will be a $25 billion industry by 2030, making up just 0.5% of the world’s meat supply. And some critics are skeptical the industry will ever be able to scale in a meaningful way.

Click here to view on-site.—DM

Stat: Just 0.01% of bitcoin holders control more than a quarter of all the currency in circulation.

Quote: “All of our transformational leaps in observational astronomy are enabled by making ever larger pieces of glass, right?”—Astrophysicist Grant Tremblay, ahead of the James Webb Space Telescope’s launch.

Read: Climate-tech VC experts reflect on 2021 and share predictions for 2022.

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Three of the following news stories are true, and one...we made up. Can you spot the odd one out?

1. Italian researchers are working on the first flying humanoid robot.
2. A new chip could mean phone batteries that last a week or more.
3. Six Flags plans to introduce its first rechargeable roller-coaster.
4. Adidas made over $20 million on its first NFT drop.

On this day in 1882—just three years after Thomas Edison invented a way to manufacture them—electric bulbs were used to light a Christmas tree for the first time.

The vice president of Edison’s electric company, Edward Johnson, decorated the tree in his home with the novelty of electric lights. Traditionally, candles had been used to illuminate Christmas trees, which posed a fire hazard.

This holiday season, you can control strings of smart lights with an app or voice commands.

Catch up on the top Emerging Tech Brew stories from the past few editions:

• December was an EV battery announcement bonanza
• An AI tool meant to reduce bias in investing could exacerbate it, experts say
• Thousands of diesel school buses could get a second life as electric ones