Hi Crypto Network,
First of all, I would like to congratulate all the teams that have made it through the group stages of the world cup! I’m sure after England’s game on Tuesday evening it will be so nail-biting that I won’t have a single fingernail left.
Today’s crypto blog article is a continuation of last week’s topic, the next big crypto industry. My aim in this series is to not only provide thought-provoking content that helps you delve deeper into the fundamentals of the crypto world, but also help provide some blockchain education to assist in your decisions when investing or adding to your portfolio.
So, in today’s crypto trading blog, I would like to discuss how the energy sector with the help of energy coins could be revolutionised by cryptos/blockchain technology, and which of the cryptos you need to consider adding to your cryptocurrency portfolio.
CRYPTOS AND THE ENERGY SECTOR
The current global electricity market is worth $2 trillion, which is naturally closed and controlled by a handful of large players. Energy companies are incentivised to sell more energy and at the highest possible price.
The market for power (electricity) generation is naturally becoming decentralised, more and more individuals and businesses are generating their own energy through renewable sources.
In most countries, the supply and retail of electricity has shifted from fully government-owned operations to regulated, centralised, and privatised ownerships. The monopoly still remains however, as do the concerns for people: prices continue to climb while the transition to clean renewable energy has been slow.
THE ENERGY SECTOR AND CURRENT ISSUES
Centralised – As many of you may have experienced when shopping around for the best prices for your electric and gas bills, you may have found that only a small number of large energy companies control the supply of millions of customers, meaning that with minimal competition, prices have no way of effectively declining.
Transparency – Markets are controlled and in the hands of financial brokers. Electricity is traded Over-The-Counter (OTC) between energy companies or banks and therefore there is no transparency to users of energy, giving consumers a very limited choice, and limited control over which energy contracts to select as prices are very similar, with no real differentiation.
Lack of competition – Barriers to entry are high, with the complexity of regulation and costs of entry being the two main reasons for these monopolies operating in all major power markets globally.
THE FUTURE OF ENERGY – HOW CAN BLOCKCHAIN TECHNOLOGY AND CRYPTOCURRENCIES HELP
Centralised – As many of you may have experienced when shopping around for the best prices for your electric and gas bills, you may have found that only a small number of large energy companies control the supply of millions of customers, meaning that with minimal competition, prices have no way of effectively declining.
Transparency – Markets are controlled and in the hands of financial brokers. Electricity is traded Over-The-Counter (OTC) between energy companies or banks and therefore there is no transparency to users of energy, giving consumers a very limited choice, and limited control over which energy contracts to select as prices are very similar, with no real differentiation.
Lack of competition – Barriers to entry are high, with the complexity of regulation and costs of entry being the two main reasons for these monopolies operating in all major power markets globally.
Gone are the days where the conventional energy landscape merely consisted of few large power plants. The new energy landscape will be centred around consumers.
Communities, neighbourhoods, cities, and states will instead benefit from the rise of ‘prosumers’ who will produce green energy (like solar power) for themselves and sell excess power directly to their neighbours at an affordable cost.
Not only are we going to see the rise of the prosumer, we’re going to see local energy microgrids, which are able to operate autonomously from the national grid, become a thing of their own, while the advancement of machine learning and blockchain technology emerge to benefit global energy inclusion.
HOW BLOCKCHAIN AND CRYPTOS WILL ACHIEVE THIS
Peer-to-Peer Energy Trading Models: As a result of the increased awareness among the users/consumers regarding the production and usage of renewable energy, many consumers are turning into producers through rooftop solar panels or wind turbines. They are motivated by financial and environmental concerns, as well as low levels of trust in the large energy suppliers.
There are two leading cryptos in this space creating environments for Peer to Peer energy exchanges. The first is Power ledger and the second is Vattenfall.
Distributed Energy Grids/Micro Grids: Microgrids, powered by new technologies, will be fundamental to the new energy economy as old centralized energy grids struggle to keep up with energy demands.
Every year, millions of small renewable energy-generating units are being added to the energy system, such as wind turbines and solar systems.
As decarbonization, decentralization, and digitization transforms the energy sector, smart microgrids are going to be needed to operate independently to larger grids, if necessary, to offset any disturbances.
Using blockchain technology, these smart microgrids of the future will connect individual energy producers and consumers to form peer-to-peer energy trading networks, leading to more social energy inclusion in communities.
Thanks to the rapid growth of micro-grids or distributed energy grids (DERs) many start-ups are now also aiming to produce their own power and sell the excess back to the grid. A Smart Grid will be able to connect consumers (Prosumers) that produce and store energy with consumers that have a demand for energy consumption through a peer-to-peer network while bypassing the utility incumbents. All transactions will be securely stored and visible on the blockchain and smart contracts.
HOW TO TRADE CRYPTOCURRENCIES
So trading cryptocurrencies can be a daunting prospect, but as promised earlier in this cryptocurrency blog, I said I would share some key opportunities which will get you started in this Power Coin sector. Sign up now for our Cryptocurrency Courses to get an in-depth understanding of this Blockchain Revolution.
POWER LEDGER (POWR)
Power Ledger(POWR) is currency number 84 by market capitalisation at $106,812,223 and is currently valued at $0.28. It can be traded on Binance, Bittrex and Huobi as well as other major exchanges. PowerLedger is an energy trading platform that allows for decentralized selling and buying of renewable energy. Their ecosystem uses two tokens: POWR and Sparkz. POWR are the tokens you’d buy on an exchange, whilst Sparkz is used only within the platform and is generated when POWR gets entered into a smart contract escrow. Each Sparkz token represents 1 kWh of electricity, and their cost varies depending on the price of a unit of energy wherever they’re bought. So, POWR is an access token to the platform, and increasing usage of the platform should result in increased value of POWR, as everyone using the platform requires POWR to generate Sparkz. Anyone looking to use the Power Ledger platform will need to have smart meters fitted into their homes, and data from these will be fed into the blockchain to ensure payments can be directed appropriately based on electricity production and usage readings.
WEPOWER (WPR)
WePower (WPR) is currency number 290 by market capitalisation at $18,661,420 USD and is currently valued at $0.041849. It can be traded on Binance, Bittrex and Huobi as well as other major exchanges.
WePower is an environmentally friendly power vitality exchange platform that means to advance a cleaner, more advantageous future using the power of decentralized blockchain technology.
We know the advantages of efficient power vitality, but really using that environmentally friendly power vitality in our own homes can be difficult. Environmentally friendly power vitality – like sun-oriented boards or a wind turbine – requires significant investment.
WePower is a blockchain-based green energy trading platform. It connects energy buyers (households and investors) directly with the green energy producers and creates an opportunity to purchase energy upfront at below-market rates. WePower uses energy tokenization to standardize, simplify and open globally the currently existing energy investment ecosystem.
HOW PLATINUM CRYPTO ACADEMY CAN HELP
Trading cryptocurrencies or investing in cryptocurrencies can be a very lucrative and exciting experience. Today’s Crypto Blog has highlighted another area in which cryptocurrencies can be applied to improve/advance an industry. Platinum Crypto Academy offers Cryptocurrency courses on How to Trade Bitcoin, as well as dedicated mentoring on a 1-on-1 basis, so if you’re looking to get started or looking to improve your trading skills, speak with a trader today to discuss exactly how we can support you through this tremendous opportunity.
If you’ve booked your session above, we look forward to speaking to you soon!
Hopefully, you have enjoyed today’s article. Thanks for reading!
Have a fantastic day!
Richard Baker
Live from the Platinum Crypto Trading Floor.