PayPal has proposed a method to route transactions to 'green miners' who utilize low-emissions energy by offering them low fees and a 'locked' Bitcoin reward.
According to the proposal, the strategy would identify miners operating with 'sustainable energy sources' and direct on-chain transactions to them preferentially. These miners would then be rewarded through a 1-of-n multisig script attached to the transactions, allowing any one of the participating miners to spend the coins.
The incentive for 'green miners' comes in the form of an additional BTC reward that is 'locked' and exclusively available to them. This was further elucidated in a blog post detailing the mechanism, which stated: “Green miners will be incentivized to mine these transactions since they will be the only ones eligible for the additional 'locked' BTC reward.”
To qualify for this program, miners must obtain a Green Proof for Bitcoin certification by achieving a 'Clean Energy Score or a Grid Impact Score higher than 50.' The intricacies of these scoring metrics are outlined in supporting documentation provided by the partnership.
The initiative also increases the likelihood that participating entities will choose to route on-chain transactions to these whitelisted 'green miners.'
