Benn Jordan tells artists selling NFTs to “just wait” for Ethereum 2.0 in explainer video
“Artists using the Bitcoin and Ethereum blockchains are environmentally irresponsible”
Musician and content creator Benn Jordan, AKA The Flashbulb, has said that artists should wait before selling NFTs on the Ethereum blockchain or mint NFTs on a more sustainable blockchain. He briefly breaks down how NFTs and the blockchain work in a new video, along with highlighting the environmental concerns and explaining how artists can shape the future of cryptocurrency.
Jordan’s video comes after the sudden surge of popularity among NFTs. Producers, artists and other public figures have been minting NFTs to sell to fans, due to the promise of empowering artists and building closer fan-to-artist relationships. However, Jordan explains that the “absurd amounts of energy” the Bitcoin and Ethereum blockchains use are so “grossly extravagant that it seems hyperbolic”.
“When doing the research for this video, I repeatedly fact-checked myself because I thought I was understanding it wrong. But I wasn’t”, he continues. “The Bitcoin blockchain alone uses more energy than Argentina.”
“Artists who use these particular blockchains are environmentally irresponsible”.
The problem, Jordan says, lies with the Ethereum 1.0 blockchain, which uses a Proof-of-Work (PoW) system to verify transactions. The upcoming Proof-of-Stake (PoS) chain, expected to be a part of Ethereum 2.0, is a potential solution for the environmental concerns that Proof-of-Work chains create.
In the video, Benn Jordan also highlights that there are already blockchain networks that use PoS, and that artists should “just wait” and that “there is no reason to be waiting for Ethereum 2.0”.
Aphex Twin, Grimes, 3Lau, Calvin Harris and more have all minted NFTs. Calvin Harris recently claimed that NFTs can “completely revolutionise the music industry”, but Nils Frahm says NFTs are “the most disgusting thing on the planet”. Benn Jordan also spoke with Tycho about the effects of NFTs after the artist revealed plans to offer audio and visual projects as NFTs.
Benn Jordan concludes the video with a message to his fellow artists: “Music and blockchain will almost certainly be married together in a much more fruitful and beneficial way in the future…But, if you haven’t noticed, the planet you live on is on fire so, for fuck’s sake, wait a second – like, a month”.
