Mining pool f2pool has announced that it will end ethereum mining after the Merge happens. Other mining pools are also taking steps in preparation for the change.

Mining pool f2pool has offered an update on when ethereum mining will end its ETH pool. It announced on Sept. 7 that the pool will run until ETH mining ends, which is between Sept. 10 and 20. ETH miners on f2pool will receive their ETH balance following the completion of the Merge.

F2pool has acknowledged the arrival of proof-of-stake to Ethereum, but it has also noted the important role that miners have served over the years. It said of the transition to staking,

The Merge is one of the biggest changes that Ethereum has experienced, and it is highly anticipated among many insiders and crypto enthusiasts. As such, many companies are preparing for the transition.

Meanwhile, other mining pools are also taking steps in the lead-up to the Merge. However, the decisions they have to make are tough given that they must rearrange resources.

For example, Hive Blockchain Technologies is looking to optimize 6.5 Terahashes of ETH mining capacity. It may look to mine ETC and ETHPoW instead. Meanwhile, Hut8 will look to focus on machine learning, artificial intelligence, and providing other services.

Crypto platforms are also taking precautions for the Merge. Aave, for instance, has limited ETH borrowing to prevent issues for liquidators.

Ethereum switching to proof-of-stake means that the miners have to make decisions about where to spend their resources. It appears that most miners will turn to mining other crypto assets, which in turn is going to raise the difficulty of those coins and reduce profitability.

As for what assets they might mine, Bitcoin, Ethereum Classic, Litecoin, and Bitcoin Cash seem like the likely picks. However, Monero, Zcash, and Ravencoin are also available options.