Marketers’ favorite blockchain is about to become 2,000 times more desirable. That’s because an impending upgrade to Ethereum — home to over 80% of all NFTs — will reduce the network’s energy use by 99.95%, making the chain around 2,000 times more sustainable, according to experts.
This multi-day upgrade, planned for 13-15 September, is called “The Merge”, a reference to the result that will unite Ethereum’s main blockchain with a separate chain – the Beacon chain – that has been testing the new, eco-friendly infrastructure for more than a year and a half. Once merged with the Beacon chain, Ethereum will adopt this infrastructure, called “proof of stake”, as its own.
For brands, this upgrade not only alleviates a serious concern about NFTs and sustainability, but it could also offer opportunities to bring more consumers into the Web3 space.
Ever since their emergence into the public spotlight last year, NFTs have been controversial, particularly due to their reliance on Ethereum’s energy-intensive framework. The production of one NFT has been reported to emit as much carbon as a car driven 500 miles. Considering that most brands’ collections contain hundreds or even thousands of tokens, the cumulative impact could be devastating to the already vulnerable environment.
After The Merge, however, this impact will become negligible, carrying a carbon emission per NFT closer to 20 minutes of TV than a cross-country trip. Brands including Gap and Blockchain Creative Labs expressed increased interest in Ethereum as a direct result of The Merge.
“[There’s] this really big concern about the eco-friendliness of crypto and Web3 and I think that because The Merge will enable [the network] to be much less energy-intensive, that would be an answer to that question,” said Julian Alexander, senior strategist in Web3 and metaverse at agency R/GA.
Still, the actual execution of The Merge does not guarantee success for brands. Ineffective marketing will do little to convince consumers that things have changed, especially younger generations who are more likely to value sustainability.
There also remain serious flaws with Ethereum that could deter brands from using the network. High transaction fees and low throughput (transactions per second) may prompt brands to shop for one of the many competing chains on the market, from UX-friendly Solana to Dapper Labs’ highly scalable Flow.
How to market The Merge
Ethereum’s upgrade gives brands the opportunity to attract many new consumers who are skeptical of Web3’s environmental impact. But this benefit is only as useful as the marketing used to explain the changes.
“The big challenge is going to be pushing the narrative,” said Ty Duperron, product manager at software company Daz 3D. “Until that happens, it doesn’t matter if you’re right or wrong.”
Driving a new narrative, especially when it conflicts with the dominant public perception, can only be achieved through proper education.
ConsenSys, a blockchain technology company, is trying to educate via a campaign that will feature influencers, subject matter experts and NFTs. The effort is anchored by an interactive website that explains the upgrade and its three main areas for improvement: sustainability, security and scalability. (The Proof-of-Stake model is considered more secure because it eases the barriers to becoming a steward of the network, thereby increasing decentralization. And while The Merge will not immediately improve scalability, it opens the door for such upgrades in the future. .)
“We really want to help demystify some of the technical advances and help people understand what the underlying meaning of this shift is going to be,” said ConsenSys Chief Marketing Officer Neal Gorevic.
