There are a couple of cryptocurrencies based on this idea (CureCoin [1] and FoldingCoin [2]). But as far as I can tell these both rely on a trusted third party to distribute the folding work and verify that it was done. That&#x27;s because unlike hashcash and similar proofs of work via hashing, protein folding is not cheap to verify.<p>If you&#x27;re concerned about energy use and willing to trust a third party to verify the transactions, then why not use VISA?<p>(I looked at the CureCoin site and skimmed the FoldingCoin white paper [3], but I couldn&#x27;t find any description of how they verify the folding work. Can someone point me at an explanation?)<p>[1] <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.curecoin.net" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.curecoin.net</a>
[2] <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;foldingcoin.net" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;foldingcoin.net</a>
[3] <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;foldingcoin.net&#x2F;the-coin&#x2F;white-paper&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;foldingcoin.net&#x2F;the-coin&#x2F;white-paper&#x2F;</a>