What Is Ethereum POW (ETHW)? How It Works & Where to Buy It

Ever wondered what is Ethereum PoW (ETHW) but had no one to turn to for an answer? We have it.

Since the first official announcement, cryptocurrency aficionados worldwide had been anticipating the Ethereum blockchain network’s transition from a Proof-of-Work (PoW) to a Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus mechanism. On September 15, 2022, the much-awaited update to the Ethereum blockchain known as The Merge was successfully implemented.

However, afraid their work will become obsolete and they’ll end up without income, a large portion of PoW miners on the Ethereum blockchain decided to keep operating on the old PoW infrastructure. The result was the new Ethereum blockchain hard fork called EthereumPoW.

Following the completion of the Merge, Ethereum currently exists in at least three unique iterations: Ethereum, Ethereum Classic (an earlier hard fork), and most recently, EthereumPoW. While Ethereum and Ethereum Classic are well-established blockchains, EthereumPoW is still rather new to most traders. 

So, if you’re wondering whether or not the recent EthereumPoW hard fork is worth your time and money, this article will fill you in on all the details you need to know. But, instead of jumping right into answering the question, “What is ETHW?” let’s first take a step back and learn about the history of the Ethereum network.

The Brief History of Ethereum

Ethereum is a distributed blockchain platform that enforces self-executing smart contracts without the risk of fraud or tampering from unauthorized parties.

Moreover, the Ethereum blockchain is often touted as the impetus behind DeFi and “computer-controlled money.” To this end, several of Ethereum’s ground-breaking innovations have been implemented on other smart contract distributed ledgers.

Namely, this distributed ledger platform allows programmers to create and launch programs and decentralized applications (dApps) that always carry out their intended function without the risk of manipulation from outside sources.

The cryptocurrency known as Ether, or ETH, was created specifically for use on the Ethereum network. Ethereum miners earn ETH rewards for their work authenticating transactions. Additionally, all smart contracts and DeFi applications built on Ethereum use ETH as the principal means of exchange.

Aside from that, Ethereum was one of the first prominent blockchains to permit other developers to introduce cryptocurrencies without first creating a native blockchain from zero. The Ethereum network, on the other hand, went through a severe split that same year due to a hack using smart contracts.

The Merge

The Merge refers to the process by which the Beacon Chain, Ethereum’s new PoS consensus layer, was combined with the existing execution layer of Ethereum, which is known as the Mainnet and has been around since the initial stages of Ethereum. It allowed the network to be protected without the energy-intensive process of mining. Instead, it uses staked ETH.

With the Merge, a huge milestone was reached toward the ultimate goal of Ethereum, which is increased scalability, reliability, and effectiveness.

In addition to easing Ethereum’s scalability, this shift will decrease the amount of energy needed to verify transactions on the network. On the other hand, some miners for Ethereum feel that the update will reduce the amount of money they could make. This led to the formation of the EthereumPoW hard fork.

Actually, EthereumFair and EthereumPOW are the two most popular hard forks of the primary Ethereum network that will both continue using the Proof-of-Work consensus model as a verification method. The communities that formed around Ethereum were the ones who were responsible for both of these forks.

The Reason Behind the Ethereum POW (ETHW) Fork

The Ethereum network will be able to scale up while massively minimizing its carbon impact and boosting its need for electrical power now when the GPU-based Proof of Work mining is phased out. On the other hand, the shift to PoS will leave a smoldering wasteland of Ethereum mining equipment in its wake. 

Mining Ethereum using the PoW algorithm has a long history of being a potentially rewarding undertaking. Also, many people believe that PoW is superior to PoS when it comes to supporting decentralization.

In addition, miners of Ethereum (ETH) who did not wish to switch to PoS were forced to mine Ethereum Classic (ETC) instead, which has been subject to various vulnerabilities in recent months. As a direct consequence, the ETHW Core community came into existence and established its separate PoW blockchain network.

How Does EthereumPOW (ETHW) Work?

Miners of ETHW, much like miners of other Proof-of-Work cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, must use their processing capacity to solve a random math puzzle to confirm the transactions and create a new block. 

In return, they are provided with ETHW, an asset exclusively traded on the ETHPoW blockchain.

What Is EthereumPOW (ETHW) Used For?

EthereumPoW, also known as ETHW, is an initiative with the goal of assisting miners operating under the PoW consensus to continue to generate revenue through the mining of ETH.

Where to Buy EthereumPOW (ETHW)?

Since the new staking functionality of the Ethereum blockchain potentially classifies it as a security, SEC chairperson Gary Gensler has warned that the current Ethereum blockchain could be subjected to regulations.

It is possible that ETHW will not be affected by this regulatory issue because ETHW does not offer crypto-staking features. In turn, the lack of financial supervision could potentially increase ETHW’s popularity among crypto investors.

In addition, many significant cryptocurrency exchanges, notably Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange in terms of trading volume, have announced that they will be supporting EthereumPoW.

The ETHW token was initially listed on Poloniex. This exchange, however, ended up endorsing a different fork of Ethereum known as EthereumFair (ETHF) after the Merge. Several other markets soon followed suit, making it possible to purchase ETHW on Kraken, Gate.io, , Bitmart, Phemex, MEXC, and some of the other exchanges that are on board with the latest Ethereum hard fork.

In addition, the current and forthcoming ETHW airdrops may help expand the EthereumPoW ecosystem and attract new users.

How Long Has EthereumPOW (ETHW) Been Around? 

On September 13, 2022, the ETHW Core team announced that their ETHW mainnet would go live within 24 hours following The Merge. Though the identities of the ETHW Core members remain hidden, the project has received support from the likes of ETH crypto miner Chandler Guo and (at least initially) TRON developer Justin Sun. Late in the game, though, Justin Sun shifted his support to an opposing branch.

What’s Controversial About EthereumPOW (ETHW)?

Despite the assurances provided by ETHW Core and Mr. Guo, the launch of the new EthereumPoW system was not exactly as trouble-free as anticipated. The hard fork was plagued by technological problems from the very beginning of its process. Due to a flawed contract with a third party, the network was vulnerable to a malicious hack, which led to the theft of 200 ETHW (about $260,000).

In addition, numerous users have voiced their dissatisfaction with their inability to connect to the EthereumPoW servers using the data supplied by the blockchain.

To add insult to injury, Justin Sun, a backer of Poloniex and one of the initial advocates of the new initiative, reversed course and now backs a new Ethereum fork that nobody had heard of before.

How Many ETHW Tokens Are There?

There are currently approximately 106 million ETHW tokens in circulation, and the current  supply of the cryptocurrency is equivalent to that amount.

Can ETHW Be Mined?

Yes. Even though ETHW is an ERC-20 token, which usually can’t be mined because it uses the PoS consensus protocol, ETHW works as a native token on its own blockchain and uses the PoW consensus protocol. Because of this, it is possible to mine ETHW tokens.

Even before the Ethereum Merge from the PoW to PoS consensus protocol, EthereumPoW had a strong following among Ethereum cryptocurrency aficionados whose primary source of income is mining.

Market Cap and Price History of EthereumPOW (ETHW)

According to CoinGecko, as of October 14, 2022, 1 ETHW is worth $7.12. In the past 24 hours, the price has ranged from $7.02 to $7.66, with a 24-hour trading volume of nearly $55 million, as recorded by CoinMarketCap.

Moreover, the highest price of ETHW ever recorded was $58.54 on September 3, 2022, and the lowest price was $4.17 on September 19, 2022.

The price of ETHW experienced an early bullish reaction in the days following its inception, but then it dropped steadily for weeks, reaching a low of $4.17 on September 19, 2022. The value of the token has recently been trending downward in a consistent manner.

With any luck, ETHW will undergo a gradual increase in value like Ethereum Classic (ETC), a former hard split from the core Ethereum blockchain, and Bitcoin Cash (BCH), the Bitcoin blockchain’s hard fork.

The well-known cryptocurrency price tracking platform DigitalCoinPrice forecasts that in a few years from now, the value of ETHW will almost certainly have increased in price.

On the other hand, whether or not there will be an increase in price is contingent on the ecosystem and community ETHW is successfully creating. It is unclear what the use case for ETHW would be if it could not support DeFi. 

In addition to this, the cryptocurrency market is notorious for its extreme volatility. Nobody can determine with absolute certainty what lies ahead for the EthereumPoW blockchain and the ETHW token in the future.

Biggest Competitors of EthereumPOW (ETHW)

Shortly after ETHW’s release, several projects demonstrated their commitment to the ecosystem by, for example, developing wallets, decentralized platforms, and Web 3.0 operating systems like UniSwap V3, MetaMask, and DefiEdge.

F2pool was the first mining pool to begin ETHW mining, and as other pools began exchanging their resources for the coin, the hash rate increased to 41.7%; subsequent pools, including Woolypooly (21.5%) and 2miners (14.1%), also saw increases in their own rates.

What Does the EthereumPOW (ETHW) Project Road Map Look Like?

The future of Proof-of-Work transactions on Ethereum appears to hold a lot of potential. The Ethereum Hard Fork (ETHW) has been making significant headway recently and appears to be moving in the desired path. A few primary factors can explain this.

The Positive Scenario

The group responsible for ETHW already has the expertise and practical experience in the field of blockchain technology. They have an excellent track record of keeping their commitments to their customers and a stellar reputation in the local community. 

This group of developers consistently creates new improvements and upgrades, which reassures ETH fans who have been using the platform for a long time. 

As part of its long-term plan, the group hopes to establish its own network of nodes and mining pools to operate as a decentralized cryptocurrency system.

Moreover, Ethereum is the leading platform for smart contracts and decentralized applications (dApps), which justifies the large interest in ETHW in the market. The development team has been highly engaged in promoting ETHW in various online groups and discussion forums, which has increased its visibility.

As this token gains more users, its value will continue to increase, which will make investing in it a more appealing prospect for financial backers. 

The price of ETHW will increase with the influx of new coins, which will rise as the number of people investing in ETHW does. It seems like ETHW will play a significant role in the future of the crypto market. On the other hand, there’s always that “But…”

The Less Positive Scenario

Disagreements frequently give birth to hard forks, and as a result, they are often mired in a significant amount of controversy. EthereumPoW appears to be catering solely to the requirements of ETH miners, who face the possibility of going out of business due to Ethereum’s shift to the more eco-friendly PoS protocol.

The launch of the project was not smooth, and the group that is working on it does not appear to have a comprehensive strategy yet. Although the project’s developers are optimistic, investing in ETHW carries the risk that the community will not be able to support itself.

Pros and Cons of EthereumPOW (ETHW)

Pros

• ETHW is supported by some of the most prominent exchanges in the industry;
• With ETHW, miners can keep utilizing PoW as their consensus mechanism of choice.

Cons

• Proof-of-Work is considered to be a less efficient method of validating transactions;
• Miners require more expensive hardware technology;
• Concerns have been raised about ETHW’s potential to survive in the long term.

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