The second largest cryptocurrency by capitalization has several versions that did not support the main network updates and separated from it. What are these coins, and how is their development
On September 15, the “Merger” took place in the Ethereum (ETH) network. The second largest cryptocurrency by capitalization has switched from the Proof-of-Work principle to the Proof-of-Stake principle. Not the entire community approves of this reform, and the miners are completely left without their usual coin and are looking for a replacement among PoW forks. However, both the updated Ethereum and its forks have a negative price trend so far.
The day after the Confluence, two hard forks of the network were launched: ETHW and ETHF. Their main difference from the leading altcoin is the refusal to switch to the Proof-of-Stake (PoS) principle. ETHW and ETHF remain true to the principle of establishing network consensus through Proof-of-Work (PoW).
- The main problems and threats of the “Merge” Ethereum. Part 1
- The main problems and threats of the “Merge” Ethereum. Part 2
Rewards for confirming transactions and the right to make decisions on the development of the network are retained by miners – persons who own the computing power of the network. It is on this principle that Bitcoin works, and ETH worked on it until mid-September.
The transition of ETH to PoS has disappointed many enthusiasts of this currency, who fear the growth of network centralization. The miners were completely out of work, as ETH was the most profitable coin for mining on video cards (Bitcoin mining requires special other ASIC devices). The miners had to look for a new coin to mine. Now in the center of their attention, in addition to the mentioned new forks, is Ethereum Classic (ETC) – a hard fork launched in 2016 and therefore does not contain improvements in subsequent years, but has a stable team ready for competition.
However, a month has passed since the update, and the situation around Ethereum and its versions remains uncertain and not too optimistic. The losers are both the holders of cheaper ETH and the miners who have not been able to find a good replacement for this currency. Let’s take a closer look at what happened to the main varieties of the altcoin over the month.
“Ethereum fork will get support.” What will happen to the price of the new cryptocurrency
Ethereum updated (ETH)
Contrary to the expectations of many investors, the reform did not lead to a significant increase in the exchange rate. Having reached the local maximum of $1.7 thousand on September 11, the coin began to fall in price, and already on September 19 it reached levels of about $1.3 thousand, where it fixed.
The Ethereum dominance index fell to 17.2%, capitalization – to $160 billion. Altcoin steadily retains its second position in the capitalization rating, but the market result of switching to PoS remains unclear. There is no inflow of capital into the blockchain.
Ethereum Classic (ETC)
Even before the Merger, many Ethereum miners began to switch to this currency, significantly raising the network hashrate. Many hoped that after the update, ETC would start to rise in price in order to take the place of the second PoW blockchain after Bitcoin. But having reached the local price peak of $42 on September 7, ETC, like ETH, began to get cheaper.
On September 19, the rate was below $30, and now it is at $23. The coin takes 24th place in the capitalization rating, although it recently entered the second ten. The capitalization of ETC is $3.3 billion, the network hashrate is 146 Th/s. Compared to pre-Merge, this is a significant number, but still much less than pre-upgrade ETH. So, in May 2022, the Ethereum hashrate exceeded 1100 Th/s.
Ethereum PoW (ETHW)
This blockchain, created by enthusiastic miner Chandler Goh, intended to be the main replacement for ETH, but so far has not seriously competed even with ETC. If at the beginning of August (before the launch of the blockchain) the futures prices for the coin exceeded $137, then by September it fell to $50, and after the fork, it fell to the area below $10. The capitalization of ETHW is $766 million — 211th place in the ranking. The hashrate is only 38 Th/s. However, the founder of the project expects a 100-fold increase in the coin rate in the next 10 years.
Ethereum Fair (ETHF)
This fork disappoints the community even more: rank 2679 with a capitalization of $104 million has fallen more than 20 times in price in a month: on September 16, the price of the coin reached $20, but already on September 19 it fell to $2, and in October it was even lower than $1. Hashrate – 4.8 Th / s.
Fork mining
Mining PoW-forks of Ethereum in terms of profitability leaves much to be desired. Even for ETC, the profitability is still 8-10 times lower than the original coin. Nevertheless, the mining of all forks – ETC, ETHW, ETHF – makes sense for the future: if any of these coins gain popularity, it has room to grow. Courses can add 1-2, and some even 3 orders.
In addition to the listed cryptocurrencies, former Ethereum miners are switching to such blockchain as RavenCoin (14 Th / s), Bitcoin Gold, Kaspa, Ergo and other coins with the same mining algorithm . But it is possible that the main project war for Ethereum mining power is just beginning.
How to make money on Ethereum forks ?
