📄️ Storage is Underutilized
IDC estimated that the average consumer with HDD storage for external backup only utilizes 23% of the capacity. This leaves a tremendous opportunity for storage-based cryptocurrencies to leverage this resource to secure the blockchain while offering the user a reward as an incentive. With Chia farming becoming easier and more accessible, the vision is that any user with extra capacity can easily participate in the Chia network, earn rewards, and quickly reclaim the space needed for user data.
📄️ Circularity
Although hyperscale datacenters may not have the immediate availability of underutilized storage, they do refresh their storage systems every 3-5 years to meet growing demand. Cloud data centers assure customers of data security. To avoid any perception of risk, storage devices are typically physically destroyed at the end of first use. Unfortunately, some of the older standards around data sanitization recommend physical destruction for sensitive data when leaving an organization’s control, despite there being a near zero risk for data leaking with modern data encryption and sanitization methods specific to storage devices.
📄️ LCAs
The major vendors for hard disk drives, Seagate, Western Digital, and Toshiba, are publicly traded companies and release annual sustainability reports, and ESG data on their products. Requirements for companies to report emissions are increasing and storage vendors are being more transparent in providing LCA (Life Cycle Assessment) for various products.