The Ethereum Merge- the most anticipated event in the crypto space is hours away. It has been the final stage of Ethereum ever since its inception. After the Merge, Ethereum will function in an environmentally friendly manner and shift from a Proof of Work consensus to a Proof of Stake one. But such a shift in functionality is bound to affect the Ethereum ecosystem.
Since the Proof-of-Stake consensus model is more inclined for validators betting crypto to help secure the system and not compensate miners for solving mathematical puzzles, miners were most negatively affected by this change. will be affected by.
How Miners Are Changing Their Mining Strategies
Miners have reaped many benefits in return for securing the Ethereum PoW blockchain, but with the switch to PoS, things will change for the miners. There are two things miners can do — mine some other GPU mineable PoW crypto or mine on a fork of Ethereum.
Miners like F2pool and Hive blockchain are planning to explore other blockchains for mining. F2pool has decided to acknowledge the end of the PoW era in Ethereum and plans to end Ethereum mining after the merge. With 6.5 Terash of Ethereum mining capacity Hive Blockchain is planning to switch its mining focus to other cryptos compatible with mining with its GPU.
The easiest switch for miners will be an Ethereum PoW fork, as their mining system requirement is the same and won’t require much modification. They can either set up their mining shop focusing on Ethereum Classic or a newer proposed fork ETHPoW.
Switching to other PoW blockchain alternatives may seem like a good recourse for miners, but it will eventually fill other blockchain networks, resulting in increased mining difficulty and decreased profitability.
By becoming a validator in the PoS consensus, miners can always move with the tide and contribute to Ethereum. The largest Ethereum mining pool, Ethermine, is doing just that. They have unveiled a new staking pool for users to help maintain the integrity of the Ethereum blockchain. It won’t be as profitable as mining, but it’s still an option.
In a race to the bottom for profits, the Ethereum Merge may compel many cryptocurrency miners to give up and sell their pricey mining equipment as well.
Welcome Merge; goodbye miners
The merge is scheduled for September 15th, once the blockchain reaches a terminal total difficulty of 58,750,000,000T. The merge will move the Ethereum network from its current state by gradually switching miners and replacing them with validators in its ecosystem. Miners must decide where to spend their resources in order to make good profits.
