Idelto

Cryptocurrency news website

Ethereum Classic

Ethereum Co-Founder Vitalik Buterin Downplays Ethereum PoW Fork, Hopes It ‘Doesn’t Lead to People Losing Money’

by

Ethereum Co-Founder Vitalik Buterin Downplays Ethereum PoW Fork, Hopes It 'Doesn't Lead to People Losing Money'

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin recently discussed what he thinks about the recent Ethereum proof-of-work (PoW) fork topic that’s been finding its way into a number of conversations within the crypto community. Buterin remarked at the ETH-Seoul conference over the weekend, that he believes the people introducing the forked token concept are basically a “couple of outsiders” that “mostly just want to make a quick buck.”

Vitalik Buterin Gives His Opinion on the Proposed Ethereum PoW Fork Idea


A lot of people within the crypto community have been discussing a possible ETH PoW fork (ETHW) that is unique from the existing Ethereum Classic blockchain. Bitcoin.com News reported on the influential Chinese crypto miner Chandler Guo, who initiated the ETHW conversation after explaining that he participated in the birth of Ethereum Classic (ETC). The idea then gained more traction, as a website called ethereumpow.org was published and a few exchanges decided to list the fork.

Presently, the IOU tokens for ETHW are worth $138.69 per token, according to coinmarketcap.com metrics and against Tron’s USDD stablecoin, ETHW is exchanging hands for 142.27 USDD on Poloniex. This weekend, co-founder of Ethereum Vitalik Buterin discussed ETHW during a Q&A session at the ETH-Seoul conference. Buterin downplayed the possibility of a fork of this kind seeing long-term acceptance. “I’m not expecting it to have substantial, long-term adoption,” Buterin stressed.

The Ethereum developer and co-founder also talked about Ethereum Classic (ETC) and Buterin complimented the ETC community. “I think Ethereum Classic already has a superior community and a superior product for people kind of with those pro-proof-of-work values and preferences,” Buterin stated. When Buterin was asked about the ETHW proposal, he explained that those involved with its creation are just a “couple of outsiders that basically have exchanges, and mostly just want to make a quick buck.” Buterin added:

I hope that whatever happens, doesn’t lead to people losing money.

Digital Currency Group CEO Barry Silbert Discusses ETHW, Buterin Doesn’t See Fork Harming Ethereum’s Ecosystem


Buterin’s commentary follows the statements the founder and CEO of Digital Currency Group (DCG), Barry Silbert, has made about the ETHW idea on Twitter. Silbert tweeted to the Galois Capital account on Twitter and said: “[For what it’s worth], our full support is behind [Ethereum proof-of-stake], in addition to [Ethereum Classic], and have zero intention to support any [Ethereum proof-of-work] fork. [Ethereum] miners should move to [Ethereum Classic] to maximize their revenue long-term. Simple as that.”

Silbert has also made other statements on Twitter directly to some of Chandler Guo’s threads, and Guo asks Silbert in one tweet: “why only [Ethereum Classic]?” The DCG executive replied and said it is “the smart play for [ethereum] miners” and he also mentioned that Antpool is leading the initiative to support the Ethereum Classic chain. When someone told Silbert to stop engaging with Guo, Silbert responded and said: “I like and respect Chandler. Just disagree with him on this strategy.”

Meanwhile, at this weekend’s ETH-Seoul conference, Buterin detailed that he doesn’t expect Ethereum (ETH) to be deterred by the possibility of another fork. “I don’t expect Ethereum to really be significantly harmed by another fork,” Buterin remarked. On Twitter, it’s business as usual for Buterin, as the software developer tweeted about stealth addresses for ERC721 (non-fungible tokens) NFTs on Monday. “A low-tech approach to add a significant amount of privacy to the NFT ecosystem,” the Ethereum co-founder said.

What do you think about Vitalik Buterin’s opinion concerning the possible Ethereum PoW fork that has been discussed ahead of The Merge? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.

A Second Ethereum PoW Chain Idea Gains Traction, Poloniex to List ‘Potential Forked’ Token Markets

by

A Second Ethereum PoW Chain Idea Gains Traction, Poloniex to List 'Potential Forked' Token Markets

Five days ago, the influential Chinese crypto miner, Chandler Guo, explained that a proof-of-work (PoW) version of Ethereum is “coming soon” as the community prepares for the network’s transition to proof-of-stake (PoS) next month. As usual, the idea of a forked token gets people excited and some individuals get upset, and even though the token hasn’t been created yet, there’s now a website called ethereumpow.org summarizing the coin’s goals.

The Merge Upgrade Could Produce an Ethereum PoW Fork, Poloniex to List 2 ‘Potential Forked’ Ethereum Token Markets

If Ethereum (ETH) transitions into a full PoS blockchain next month, there’s a very good chance a PoW version will fork away from the current version. The Merge has a pencilled-in date that could take place on the week of September 19, or 44 days from now. Guo is a well known crypto miner and he played a specific role in the 2016 creation of the blockchain network Ethereum Classic (ETC). On August 1, Bitcoin.com News reported on Guo tweeting about a PoW version of Ethereum “coming soon” and how he said, “ETH PoW is DAO.”

Now there’s a new website touting the not-yet-born ethereum PoW version called ethereumpow.org, and the web portal claims a white paper is coming soon. The website’s “community [and] contributors” section says: “It takes a village to raise our Ethereumpow. Numbers of communities, exchanges, miners, and individuals have worked together to make ETHW possible.” Domain statistics from Whois records indicate that the web portal was registered on July 31, 2022. The ETHW website owner’s name and identity has been “redacted for privacy,” the internet record listing site says.

The cryptocurrency exchange Poloniex, backed by Tron’s Justin Sun, has announced that the trading platform will list ETHW. After Poloniex tweeted about listing ETHW, Sun retweeted the announcement to his 3.3 million Twitter followers. “The Ethereum Merge is expected to be in September 2022,” the exchange wrote. “Poloniex was the world’s first exchange to list ETH and now the first one to support potential forking of ETH with the listing of two potential forked ETH tokens: ETHS & ETHW.”

Poloniex Led the Charge During ETC’s Creation

Poloniex was also the first exchange to list ethereum classic (ETC). In a now-deleted tweet, one of the members of the Slock.it development team, Stephan Tual, remarked about Poloniex “leading the charge.” At the time, the Poloniex ‘troll-box’ was going wild and the exchange saw roughly $11.89 million in ETC trade volume on July 24, 2016. While it has experienced a number of 51% attack hiccups, ETC still exists today as it’s currently the 19th largest crypto asset in terms of market valuation. In an interview with Bloomberg, Chandler Guo talked about the advantages of ETHW in comparison to ETC.

Born at ETH block height 1,920,001, Ethereum Classic has reaped benefits from the pencilled-in Merge date, and during the last two weeks it has gained 51.2%, and ETC jumped 148.5% higher over the last 30 days. ETC has also seen a slight hashrate increase but during the last week, ETC’s hashrate rise has tapered off. Months before the most recent hashrate spike, ETC maintainers wrote that the community welcomed Ethash miners to the Ethereum Classic ecosystem.

Bitmex Research: ‘It Is Likely That the Chain Is Extended Past the Merge Point, However, Whether or Not This Chain Has Any Economic Significance Is an Open Question’

Furthermore, on August 1, Bitmex Research published a blog post called “ETHPoW vs ETH2,” which examines a hypothetical debate over the two potential Ethereum networks. The blog post, written by Bitmex Research, concludes “by arguing that although the ETHPoW chain may have many technical challenges and its long term viability is in question, its existence may provide an exciting opportunity for traders and speculators in the short to medium term.”

In addition to Poloniex, Huobi Global plans to list any potential forks that are created when The Merge takes place. Huobi will distribute forked assets if they meet specific requirements, the company said on Friday. When Poloniex releases the “Potential forked” token markets next week, it will be interesting to see what traders and speculators value the ETHW token. It’s quite possible the futures markets could overshadow ETC’s recent gains.

What do you think about the possibility of an ETHW chain that splits away from Ethereum when the chain transitions to PoS? Let us know your thoughts about this subject in the comments section below.

Biggest Movers: BNB Hits 2-Month High, ETC Extends Recent Declines

by

After extending recent gains, bnb rose to its highest point in two months during today’s trading session. The move comes following tweets from Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao, confirming a new partnership with Swiss watchmaker Franck Muller. Ethereum classic, on the other hand, was lower for a second straight session.

Binance Coin (BNB)

BNB, the native token of the Binance ecosystem, was one of today’s biggest movers, as it rose to its highest level in two months.

The move came following the announcement of a new partnership with Swiss luxury watchmaker Franck Muller.

Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao confirmed the news, tweeting, “Franck Muller accepts BNB payment for their watches”.

As a result of this, BNB/USD rose to an intraday peak of $307.76 in today’s session, less than 24 hours after trading at a low of $290.32.

The move saw BNB climb above its resistance level at $300, on its way to hitting its highest point since June 6.

Following this high, momentum has now eased, as bulls likely liquidated their earlier positions at this level, which has historically been a point of uncertainty.

In addition to this, BNB appears to have entered overbought territory, with the 14-day relative strength index (RSI) currently tracking at a four-month high of 69.77.

Ethereum Classic (ETC)

On the other hand, ethereum classic (ETC) was down for a second straight day, as prices continue to drop following a recent high.

Since hitting a peak of $45.40 on July 29, which was its highest point since April, ETC/USD traded in the red for five of the last seven sessions.

Today’s drop saw the cryptocurrency fall to an intraday low of $35.10, which is marginally higher than a current support level of $35.00.

Since hitting this bottom, prices have slightly increased, with the token trading at $36.14, as of writing.

This appears to be due to the 14-day RSI moving above a floor of its own at 65, and it is currently tracking close to 67.

Should we continue to see price strength increase, ETC bulls will likely attempt to take the token towards a ceiling of $38.90.

Register your email here to get weekly price analysis updates sent to your inbox:

Will we see ethereum classic climb to as high as $40 this week? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

Survey That Asks if The Merge Could Cause an Ethereum Chain Split Sparks PoS Delay Discussions

by

Survey That Asks if the Merge Could Cause an Ethereum Chain Split Sparks PoS Delay Discussions

While there’s 50 days left until the week of September 19, the crypto community has been discussing whether or not Ethereum developers will delay the penciled-in date for The Merge. Moreover, on July 27, the crypto hedge fund Galois Capital published a survey on Twitter that indicates more than 33% of the survey’s respondents think Ethereum could split in two once again.

The Merge Getting Delayed in September Becomes a Topical Conversation


After the so-called penciled-in date for The Merge was announced, the price of ethereum (ETH) and ethereum classic (ETC) skyrocketed in value against the U.S. dollar. The Ethereum developer and Beacon chain community director, Superphiz, explained that the “timeline isn’t final,” but the planning timeline he shared said The Merge could be implemented on the week of September 19. Essentially, The Merge will finalize the transition from a proof-of-work (PoW) chain to a proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus model.

Almost immediately after the announcement, the price of ethereum jumped considerably higher after previously suffering from the bear market downturn. ETH has gained 62.4% against the U.S. dollar in the last 30 days. However, with the date getting closer there’s a lot less hype and people are now wondering if Ethereum developers will delay The Merge fork. The subject of delaying The Merge has been a topical conversation on social media this weekend. One individual wrote:

I think everyone’s too fixated on the September deadline for The Merge that they think everything has to be settled within the next few months. But what if the Ethereum Foundation just delays it again?

Ethereum Supporter Says It’s a ‘Low Probability Bear Scenario if The Merge Is Delayed’


There are multiple Twitter threads discussing the possibility of The Merge getting delayed and a myriad of theoretical scenarios. One individual named Chris who calls himself a “retired degen” published a thread that shows the upsides of The Merge if it is successfully implemented with no issues.

Chris insists The Merge would drop the blockchain network’s energy use down 99.95%, it will make ETH deflationary and institutional investors will flock to the project. However, Chris further remarked that a bear scenario could take place if The Merge is delayed again.

“A low probability bear scenario is if the merge is delayed, AGAIN,” Chris explained. “A delay isn’t highly probable because the Devs are quite confident enough to set a date for the event. But then some testnets are yet to be migrated from PoW to PoS. Namely Ethereum’s Goelri and Sepolia.”

Galois Capital Survey Sparks ETH2 Delay and Chain Split Discussions


In addition to the large number of Twitter discussions talking about The Merge being delayed, the crypto hedge fund Galois Capital has shared a survey that asks whether people think Ethereum will split into two chains after The Merge is implemented. 53.7% of the survey’s respondents said The Merge will go smoothly but 33.1% thought the chain could split. If it did split there would be a PoW and PoS token even though a PoW version of ETH already exists.

The Ethereum Classic (ETC) network was introduced after the fork in 2016 to remedy the DAO hack and the Galois Capital survey shows that 51.8% of the respondents think ETH miners will transition to ETC.

The Galois Capital survey also asked if there was a non-trivial chance stablecoin company Tether would support a PoW token that splits away from the PoS ETH network. However, Tether CTO Paolo Ardoino said on Sunday that Tether plans “to support ETH2.” Ardoino also stressed that “support of ETH2 will be seamless” and he added:

It’s not about what I/we prefer between PoW/PoS. Stablecoins should act responsibly and avoid disruption for users. Especially for [decentralized finance] it’s really delicate.


What do you think about the recent discussions revolving around The Merge upgrade and the questions about the possibility of Ethereum splitting into two chains? Do you think The Merge will be delayed or have issues when the upgrade is implemented? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.

Bitmain Launches 2,400 Megahash E9 Ethereum Miner Ahead of The Merge

by

Bitmain Launches 2,400 Megahash E9 Ethereum Miner Ahead of The Merge

On July 6, the crypto mining rig manufacturer Bitmain announced the launch of the highly anticipated Antminer E9 after revealing the device on April 15, 2021. The machine boasts speeds of up to 2.4 gigahash per second (GH/s) and Bitmain is selling the device for $9,999 per unit.

Bitmain Launches Antminer E9 for $4.17 per Megahash

447 days after revealing the Antminer E9, Bitmain has finally launched the product. The company announced the launch on July 6, 2022, and said “[The Antminer E9] is equipped with a hashrate of 2,400 [MH/s], 1920W power efficiency, and power efficiency of 0.8J/M. E9 is an advanced Ethereum miner which enhances ETH/ETC mining operations.”

The new Antminer E9 leverages the consensus algorithm Ethhash and the 2,400 MH/s of hashpower is equal to 2.4 GH/s. At $9,999 per unit, the E9 is $4.17 per megahash and delivery will take place on July 15-31.

Bitmain Launches 2,400 Megahash E9 Ethereum Miner Ahead of The Merge

Interested buyers can purchase the Antminer E9 with bitcoin (BTC), usd coin (USDC) and tether (USDT) tokens stemming from Ethereum and Tron. There’s a maximum of five units per account that can purchase the new Antminer, according to the website.

The new Antminer E9 can get an estimated profit of around $37.98 per day with an electrical cost of around $0.12 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) and using today’s ether exchange rates. The machine outpaces the top two Ethhash compatible competitors which include Innosilicon’s A11 Pro ETH miner with 1,500 MH/s and the A10 Pro+ ETH miner with 750 MH/s.

E9 Launches Ahead of Ethereum’s Proof-of-Stake Transition

Bitmain’s latest Antminer E9 comes at a time when Ethereum proof-of-work (PoW) mining is nearing the end of the road with The Merge. While The Merge has been delayed on multiple occasions, ETH developer Tim Beiko said he “strongly suggests not investing more in mining equipment at this point.”

While Beiko said that statement in April, Ethereum’s hashrate tapped an all-time high on June 4, 2022, at block height 14,902,285 when the hashrate reached 1.32 petahash per second (PH/s).

When The Merge takes place, the Ethereum network will transition fully to a proof-of-stake (PoS) system rather than use PoW. Currently, ETH miners can still mine ether but there’s also a parallel blockchain called the Beacon Chain which runs a PoS system.

After The Merge, miners will not be able to mine ethereum (ETH) going forward, but the miners can mine on the Ethereum Classic (ETC) network. Many expect the current hashrate that’s dedicated to ETH today, will transition over to the ETC network following The Merge.

What do you think about Bitmain’s Antminer E9? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below?