What is EthereumPoW (ETHW)?

ETHW is a derivative of the Ethereum blockchain that diverged during the Ethereum Merge. This transition marked Ethereum's shift to proof-of-stake, whereas the forked iteration continues to operate on the proof-of-work protocol.

ETHW, also known as EthereumPoW, represents a hard fork of the original Ethereum blockchain network. This fork came into existence after the implementation of The Merge. EthereumPoW persists with the contentious Proof of Work (PoW) consensus mechanism, while Ethereum has transitioned to the more energy-efficient Proof of Stake (PoS) consensus.

ETHW was conceived by a faction of Ethereum miners, who are pivotal in providing substantial computational resources for processing and validating transactions on PoW networks. Fearing being left without a role due to the move to PoS, they chose to sustain the old PoW network.

What is the history behind EthereumPoW?

The collective responsible for ETHW, referred to as the ETHW Core, declared on September 13, 2022, that their ETHW mainnet would launch within 24 hours of The Merge. Although the identities of ETHW Core members remain undisclosed, notable supporters initially included ETH miner Chandler Guo and TRON founder Justin Sun, the latter of whom eventually backed a competing fork.

The Justin Sun-backed Poloniex became the inaugural exchange to list the ETHW token. Subsequently, other exchanges like Gate.io, Phemex, MEXC, CoinW™, and DigiFinex followed suit, enabling users to purchase ETHW.

What are the reasons behind the Ethereum Hard-fork (Split)?

Hard-fork's typically arise when there are substantial disagreements within a cryptocurrency community regarding the project's direction. They can also be employed as a means to gather funding for new initiatives.

Community members dissatisfied with the current state or proposed alterations of the project might initiate either a hard or soft fork.

A hard fork signifies a fundamental departure from the existing network protocol, rendering previously valid blocks invalid or revalidating previously invalid blocks. Consequently, the network splits, and all nodes and users wishing to follow the new path must upgrade to the latest protocol version.

Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Bitcoin SV (BSV), Terra Classic (LUNA), and Ethereum Classic (ETC) are among the prominent crypto projects resulting from hard forks. EthereumPoW (ETHW) has joined this list as a spinoff from the original Ethereum blockchain network.

Reasons for the Split: The $19 billion Ethereum mining industry heavily relies on specialized GPUs (graphics processing units) capable of handling the extensive computational demands of crypto mining. These GPUs cannot mine Bitcoin since Bitcoin utilizes ASICs (application-specific integrated circuits).

Naturally, these costly and substantial GPU setups will become obsolete with Ethereum's shift to PoS. Supporters of EthereumPoW believe that the PoW consensus mechanism is superior to PoS. Proponents of PoW perceive it as more dependable, secure, and straightforward, thereby supporting decentralization.

Vitalik Buterin, the founder of Ethereum, suggested that ETH miners transition their equipment to mine Ethereum Classic (ETC) as a viable alternative. However, this suggestion did not assuage the concerns of the ETHW Core.

Chandler Guo, now a prominent figure for the new EthereumPoW fork, disagrees with Buterin, arguing that ETC lacked an ecosystem and wasn't sufficient. Guo highlighted that some ETH miners felt compelled by The Merge, thus leading to an inevitable hard fork.

By forking the blockchain themselves, the ETHW Core can also alter the network as they see fit, including attempting to transfer coins within the brand-new PoW blockchain.

Who Comprises the Founders of EthereumPoW?

ETHPoW enjoys support from individuals worldwide who favor PoW over PoS or advocate for the coexistence of both PoW and PoS options for Ethereum's builders and users.

How Does ETHW Operate?

Similar to other PoW-based cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, ETHW requires miners to employ computational power to solve a specific mathematical problem, thereby validating transactions and proposing new blocks, earning ETHW coins in return.

While Proof-of-Stake is more efficient, Proof-of-Work is perceived as a decentralized method for transaction validation due to its reliance on a larger network of computers to confirm and authorize transactions.

What Sets ETHPoW Apart?

ETHPoW has replicated Ethereum's state at the Merge's block height. This enables DApp developers and stablecoin issuers to select the Ethereum chain they wish to support. Additionally, copying the application states would effectively double the number of DApps and liquidity on Ethereum, transitioning to EthereumPoW.

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