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SO WHAT DOES THE ETHEREUM CHANGE DO?Primarily, the software update eliminates the need for miners. Where ethereum previously set miners against each other to solve complex cryptographic puzzles and win new coin as rewards, it now requires parties who want to help validate transactions to put some skin in the game by “staking” a certain amount of ether, the ethereum coin.

With the change enacted late Wednesday, ethereum — the world’s second most valuable cryptocurrency after bitcoin — has effectively eliminated the energy-intensive task of “mining” new coins on its blockchain. Mining requires enormous computing power, which translates to huge energy consumption and, in many areas, greater greenhouse gas emissions at older power plants.