After Ethereum's shift to the Proof of Stake (PoS) system, a new blockchain network, EthereumPoW (ETHW), emerged, preserving the original Proof of Work (PoW) model.
History of EthereumPoW
The story of EthereumPoW (ETHW) is closely tied to the development of Ethereum itself, a platform initially proposed by Vitalik Buterin in 2013 and launched in 2015. In 2016, after a hack on 'The DAO,' Ethereum split, creating Ethereum Classic (ETC) alongside the main Ethereum chain. The move toward Ethereum 2.0 began in 2020, aiming to transition the platform from PoW to PoS for improved efficiency. The Merge was a key step in this shift, merging Ethereum’s consensus layer (the beacon chain) with its execution layer (the existing Ethereum chain), effectively replacing PoW with PoS. EthereumPoW came about due to disagreements within the Ethereum community over this transition. Some miners, concerned about the impact on their income and the security of the network, decided to fork Ethereum and keep the PoW system alive. Crypto veteran Chandler Guo proposed EthereumPoW on July 27, 2022, and by September 13, 2022, the ETHW Core team announced the launch of its mainnet. This launch occurred within a day of The Merge, offering miners a way to continue using the PoW model. The fork was supported by key figures in the crypto space, including Justin Sun, founder of Tron.
How EthereumPoW Works
The original Ethereum network, now known as Ethereum Classic, was built on the Proof of Work (PoW) consensus mechanism. This method was used until the network underwent a hard fork following the DAO hack to improve security. EthereumFair and EthereumPoW are two more offshoots of the original blockchain, both of which continue to utilize PoW mining. In PoW cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, digital currency is earned when individuals or groups solve complex mathematical problems, allowing them to propose a new block to the blockchain. However, to prevent a small group of miners from dominating the process and compromising the network’s resistance to censorship, a larger pool of independent miners is necessary to ensure decentralized transaction processing. Likewise, ETHW miners will maintain the same process of solving these mathematical puzzles to validate transactions and generate new blocks. For their work, miners are compensated with ETHW, the native cryptocurrency of the EthereumPoW network. This keeps the PoW model alive on the ETHPoW chain while continuing to reward those involved in securing the network.
Future of EthereumPoW
The Proof of Work (PoW) model incentivizes miners to solve complex computations to generate valid blocks, but this process requires significant energy, making it increasingly unsustainable. As the network's computing power grows, the difficulty of finding new blocks also increases, pushing the overall energy consumption higher. With much of the energy from unsuccessful mining efforts being wasted, Ethereum’s transition to Proof of Stake (PoS) was driven by the need for a more efficient system. PoS is designed to reduce energy usage and allow for more scalable networks. While EthereumPoW (ETHW) continues to attract miners who have already invested in costly mining equipment, PoS offers a more resource-efficient alternative. Although PoS is still in its early stages, it has the potential to transform blockchain security and could eventually phase out mining altogether. However, it remains uncertain whether PoS will completely replace PoW, or if both models will coexist in the future of blockchain technology.
EthereumPoW represents the continuation of the Proof of Work (PoW) model in a new era of blockchain technology. Its origins tied to Ethereum’s history and transition to Proof of Stake (PoS) ensure decentralization and the continuation of mining, integral to the ecosystem. In the future, the development of PoS may alter the landscape of blockchain technologies; however, PoW remains a significant part of the EthereumPoW chain.
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