After several delays, Ethereum’s move to a proof-of-stake (PoS) method of consensus is scheduled to take place in September of 2022. Tim Beiko, one of the key Ethereum developers suggested that the 19th of September could be a possible date for “the merge.”
This will be the first part of the merge when the proof-of-work mining will be switched off. Ethereum’s consensus part will then merge with the already existing PoS Beacon chain. Nonetheless, the September 19th date is not final, and there could be additional delays with the transition.
BitMEX, a popular crypto exchange platform, has published a blog in which it talks about the possibility of a chain split in the event of the merge. According to BitMEX, Ethereum’s merge may result in an ETH2 coin and an ETHPoW coin. BitMEX has examined the viability of the ETHPoW chain. They argue that the ETHPoW chain may provide traders exciting opportunities in the short to medium term.
Nonetheless, the team admitted that the new Ethereum chain (ETHPoW) may have technical issues, and its long-term viability may be in question. However, each problem cited by the researchers seems to have some sort of a solution.
What are some of the issues the new Ethereum PoW chain will face?
One of the main issues is the difficulty bomb, which is designed to make Ethereum’s PoW mining difficulty steadily tougher over time. This will continue until it becomes impossible to mine, which would trigger the already delayed Ice Age.
The PoW chain can persist with a new hardfork client to remove the Ice Age feature. A number of things would need to happen for this to materialize, including a removal hard fork, developers that are able to create a new client, exchanges that are prepared to serve the new client, and custodians who are ready to do so.
According to the researchers, investors should be buying the ETHPoW coin as it will take exchanges a few days to list the new coin. According to them, the best strategy would be to buy ETHPoW on decentralized exchanges and sell it on centralized exchanges.
At press time Ethereum (ETH) was trading at $1,647.02, down by 3.6% in the last 24 hours.