Ripple Did Not Fund Infamous Campaign Forcing Bitcoin Change, Chris Larsen Confirms

Ripple co-founder and Executive Chairman Chris Larsen has confirmed that the San Francisco-based blockchain payments firm did not fund the campaign aimed at changing Bitcoin to a more environmentally friendly consensus model.

The “change the code, not the climate” campaign sought to pressure key industry leaders, Bitcoin miners, and influencers into moving over to a new consensus mechanism and ditch proof-of-work (PoW).

Changing The Bitcoin Code — Mission Impossible?

In early 2023, Chris Larsen’s Greenpeace teamed up with art activist Benjamin Von Wong for its “change the code, not the climate” campaign to convert Bitcoin’s consensus mechanism to a less energy-consuming model. The campaign at the time claimed that proof-of-stake was much less environmentally harmful due to its lower energy consumption.

In a recent post on X, Larsen clarified that his primary objective while funding the campaign was to “turn Bitcoin into an accelerator for direct air capture.” He acknowledged that the $5 million campaign failed; however, he indicated that Ripple had not financed it.

Moreover, the former Ripple CEO noted that Bitcoin has witnessed a “remarkable” energy transition in recent years, with mining now mainly relying on renewable sources such as hydropower, nuclear, and wind, based on a recent study conducted by the University of Cambridge.

It’s worth mentioning that Greenpeace commissioned Canadian Art activist Benjamin Von Wong to create a unique art piece dubbed the “Skull of Satoshi” — an 11-foot skull featuring the Bitcoin logo and red laser eyes, a nod to the Bitcoin Twitter community who wear laser eyes in their profile pictures.

Smokestacks growing out of the top the skull, which is made of recycled electronic waste, aimed to represent the “fossil fuel and coal pollution” caused by Bitcoin mining and the “millions of computers” used to validate network transactions.

Instead of infuriating die-hard Bitcoin supporters, the Skull was ironically embraced by many because it was so “badass”. 

Ripple donated the Skull to the Bitcoin community. It is now being kept at the Bitcoin museum in Nashville.