How does PoW Ethereum (ETHW) work?

PoW Ethereum, also known as ETHW, is a fork of the Ethereum blockchain produced by a Chinese miner following the Merge of the execution and consensus layers. On September 15, 2022, the Ethereum blockchain transitioned from a proof-of-work (PoW) consensus method to a proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus mechanism. Along with this change, ETHPoW, a unique PoW blockchain split from Ethereum’s Merge (essentially the old pre-Merge Ethereum), went live. This forked version of Ethereum aims to keep the proof-of-work mining mechanism for ETH miners.

Any miner may contribute a block to the PoW network. It has an explicit requirement that the first valid block released is correct. Due to the slowness of data propagation, the network occasionally discovers more than one legal block. This results in multiple branches of the blockchain known as a fork.

The long-awaited “The Merge” Ethereum upgrade decreased the need for miners. Instead of utilizing expensive and energy-intensive hardware to safeguard the network, it replaced them with validators who stake Ether (ETH), considerably enhancing the cryptocurrency’s energy efficiency. However, before the Merge, a hard fork of the Ethereum network dubbed ETHW was developed. It will still use the PoW consensus process, resulting in a victory for ETH miners.

But who is driving ETHW? Chandler Guo, a Chinese miner, criticized the PoS consensus technique and created the PoW-based Ethereum network. Although creating the PoW Ethereum chain may be a victory for miners against stalkers, ETHW users had accessibility challenges.

Hackers can pick Chain IDs at a whim. However, pre-hard fork testing would have revealed the inconsistency, whereas the ETHW team ignored it. Despite this, crypto exchanges such as Binance and Coinbase support ETHW. Binance, for example, established its ETHW mining pool. This indicates it will go through the same approval procedure as other cryptocurrencies.

How to buy PoW Ethereum

Crypto trading platforms like exchanges like Coinbase and Binance are a few places where ETHW fans can purchase proof-of-work Ethereum tokens.

Binance, for example, has publicly launched Binance Pool’s fee-free Ethereum ETHW mining service, which provides ETHW withdrawals for a limited period.

Miners are drawn to ETHW because, in the absence of a proof-of-work consensus mechanism, they risk becoming bankrupt when new tokens are issued to the blockchain through the staking process. On the other hand, the proof-of-stake blockchain is not a substitute for the original Ethereum blockchain but rather a combination of the execution and consensus layers.