In the coming months, Ethereum core developers will begin the final phase of the blockchain’s transition from proof-of-work (PoW) to proof-of-stake (PoW) consensus mechanism. This sets the second-largest blockchain on a new version, Ethereum 2.0 (Serenity), which is considered more scalable and sustainable than the previous version.
Ethereum Classic for PoW lovers
In the recently-concluded Ethereum Community Conference (EthCC), the co-founder of Ethereum, Vitalik Buterin, acknowledged that not everyone welcomes the concept of proof-of-stake. While Buterin thinks the upcoming PoS changes to Ethereum are worth it, he recommended the Ethereum Classic blockchain for anyone who likes Ethereum.
Ethereum Classic (ETC) is an open source and decentralized smart contract blockchain launched in 2016 as a hard fork from Ethereum. Among other PoW chains, Buterin shilled the ETC blockchain as the “original Ethereum, which did not betray the vision by forking the DAO.”
If you love proof-of-work, you should go use Ethereum Classic. It’s a totally fine chain.
Vitalik Buterin.
Ethereum 2.0 merge is imminent
Recent updates from Eth2 developers show that the long-awaited Beacon chain merge is imminent – likely to happen in September. On July 14th, the team shared an announcement that provided a more detailed timeline for the launch. Per the timeline, Ethereum 2.0 is expected to launch in mid-September if the antecedent updates are successful.
The launch of Ethereum 2.0 would conclude the role of cryptocurrency miners on the blockchain, meaning new coins won’t be generated through miners. Instead, users would be required to stake a certain amount of ETH for a chance to be selected to validate blocks of transactions for rewards.
At the time of writing, about 13,133,136 ETH was staked on the Eth2 Beacon chain, an equivalent of $20.1 billion at the current market price.
