Green Validators

We spoke to some of the validators in the ixo Internet of Impact Hub network, to hear about how they are running green infrastructure. A theme we picked up through these interviews is how many of the people behind these green machines are also committed to being more green in all aspects of their work and personal lives! This is a cultural, technological and economic shift. Are you part of this movement, or getting left behind?

Gateway FM

Igor Mandrigin spoke to us about the Gateway.FM validator which is located in Norway and operated by a globally-distributed team.

GatewayFM provides managed RPC endpoints for multiple blockchains and scalability solutions (aka layer-2 infrastructure), as well as being a leading validator for Proof-of-Stake and Proof-of-Authority chains. with a commitement to deliver eco-friendly infrastructure.

Gateway.FM achieves zero-emissions through their partnership with Hydro66, which is one of the greenest European data centres. Next year, as Gateway expands into many more geographical regions, they are investigating the carbon footprint of infrastructure service partners as an important decision metric.

Every step we make towards releasing less greenhouse gases helps. We cannot just live, borrowing from our planet, expecting help from future generations and hoping that they will solve this issue somehow. We need to take actual steps and take responsibility for what is going on. And by the way we don't have offices, as we all work from our homes, so not having to commute also contributes to less carbon emissions.–Igor, Gateway.FM

Blockscope

Blockscope is dedicated to providing infrastructure to blockchain PoS networks and also to blockchain apps development and consultancy. We firmly believe that blockchain can transform the world as we know it today, and we want to be a part of the revolution. –Iván Rodríguez, Blockscope

Blockscope runs validator nodes for the ixo Impact Hub, Regen Network, Bitcanna, Fetch.ai, Akash, Kichain, Polkadex, Near, Cartesi and Mina.

We avoid working with blockchain networks which use consensus algorithms that are not energy efficient, such as Proof of Work networks.

Blockscope selects data centers which are carbon neutral based on their energy consumption. They only select providers who use 100% renewable energy sources, are energy efficient, and continue to raise their standards. This includes doing due-diligence to verify the claims made by these providers.

The majority of their servers live in cloud providers that have energy certifications; a couple that are dedicated for testing purposes live on their small data center that is located in an office that runs a renewable energy contract.

For balancing the carbon costs where energy cannot be 100% sourced from green electricity, Blockscope believes the way to go will be to purchase carbon credits as offsets from other networks, such as Regen Network, ixo, and ClimateTrade. Rodríguez says that they have always been very committed in their own lives to taking care of nature and sustaining circular economies. Being advocates for recycling, minimalism, minimising waste and resource consumption, trying to follow the philosophy: "Think globally and act locally."

Blockchain is a technology that will revolutionise the world in terms of how humans interact, and as participants of that, we should help make it even greater by being sustainable and help the planet be sustainable and healthy, says Rodríguez.

This is why Blockscope has chosen to run validator infrastructure for projects such as ixo, Regen Network, and Bitcanna. Blockscope believes in the Interchain Earth Mission and their first goal to be carbon neutral is only the first step.

Some of their goals for the future include:

• Investing part of the earnings generated through their validator services back into projects and networks that are working to improve the state of the planet.
• Providing validator infrastructure and directly investing in blockchain projects that are aligned with nature sustainability.
• Funding local associates who rescue mistreated animals and take care of them.
• Providing liquidity to blockchain projects that are aligned with nature sustainability.

Peloclick

Peloclick is a non-custodial validator, centered in community growth, decentralisation, and boosting the contribution of the blockchain as an enabling technology to transform the way many industries become carbon neutral in their operations. –Ivan Diaz Perez

Peloclick provides validator services to the ixo Impact Hub and Regen Network, as well as other networks such Mina Protocol, Moonriver and Polkadex. In all cases these validator nodes are zero-emission contributor to these networks.

Pelocklick carefully selects their data center service providers to ensure they fully source their energy from renewable sources. Equally, they pursue a "constant reduction" of their energy needs by using the most efficient equipment. In the cases where owned or collocated equipment is used, utility contracts run on a special mode where 100% renewable energy is used. Mainly the case with networks on their early testnet status. A Tesla-Battery-based setup is under development now to make a part of the ops self-sufficient.

Perez comes from a family with long traditions of land and agricultural activities. Not having the capacity to do it on his own, he felt that ensuring that those who still contribute to "painting our planet in green" gets a modern and traceable incentive to do so. "It was the least I could do" he says.

According to Perez, sometimes there are restrictions on what validators can do to change from existing data center contracts or infrastructure hosting setups. In these cases validators should consider purchasing carbon credits from other networks, such as Regen Network, to offset their emissions.

EZ Staking

EZ Staking is a French company that offers a staking service for more than 10 networks. Their infrastructure includes dedicated servers and sentry nodes, with several levels of security, automated alerting, and backup servers. "We are indeed IT experts and builders for blockchains" says Zakaria Lounes. EZ Staking uses Hetzner services to ensure their carbon neutrality, with hydro-electric power for their German infrastructure and a mix of wind and hydro-elctric power for their infrastructure in Finland.

"We can all play a role at our level, and we wanted to be an actor towards these changes that we must all undertake. No more "blablabla" as Thunberg says, actions!"

EZ Staking runs nodes located in Helsinki (Finland), Nuremberg and Falkenstein (Germany). They also have nodes in France and Canada. Where these are not yet entirely carbon neutral, they plan to replace these service-providers as soon as current contracts end. .

"We are very proud to participate in the ixo Impact Hub blockchain network; we are in great need of such initiatives that go in the direction of our planet. For this, we would like to thank ixo for this initiative and for enabling us to be a part of this."