Proof-of-work Ethereum Fork to Rally Miners with 1 Hour Countdown

Stewards of the proof-of-work Ethereum spinoff blockchain have said the network will formally go live within 24 hours after the Merge

article-image

Source: DALL·E

share

key takeaways

  • ETHW’s mainnet launch is a direct response to the Merge event for Ethereum
  • A successful Merge will put Ethereum miners out of business, leading to a proof-of-work spinoff

The controversial Ethereum proof-of-work (PoW) fork, ETHPoW (ETHW), is expected to formally launch within 24 hours after the Merge, stewards of the nascent network said late Monday.

The exact timing of ETHW’s mainnet deployment — the phase where fully-fledged blockchains are made available to the public — will be announced via a countdown timer one hour before going live, giving prospective participants a target to connect to the network.

The Merge event, which will see Ethereum transition to proof-of-stake (PoS), is slated for the very early hours of Sept. 15, once the blockchain reaches Terminal Total Difficulty of 58,750,000,000T.

Final code, binaries, configuration files, node info and the like for the Ethereum spinoff will be made available once the timer reaches zero, the stewards said.

Previously, miners on Ethereum have helped secure the network under a PoW-powered consensus mechanism. The transition to PoS will effectively put them out of business, leading major GPU miner Chandler Guo to rally support for ETHW.

Indeed, ETHW is a direct response to the Merge, with those hoping to maintain the older Ethereum state, including its transaction history and all records of assets, as a means of survival.

Several exchanges have already voiced their support for the PoW fork. This has led markets to spring up for IOUs of the network’s token, to be distributed by participating exchanges after the blockchain comes online.

Traders dumping Ethereum PoW could drag the price of ether

Skepticism abounds over whether ETHW will be particularly valuable (it currently trades for around $29, while the PoS version changes hands just below ether par, at $1,685).

Pricing for both ether and ETHW could be impacted if traders immediately sell their ETHW once their IOUs are swapped, Matt Weller, global head of research at FOREX.com told Blockworks in an email.

“Current grey market valuations for ETHW are at around 3% of the value of the main Ethereum network, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see ETH fall by ~3% immediately after even a successful Merge, akin to a stock going ex-dividend,” Weller said, as traders would hypothetically seek to offload the ether they bought to receive the fork token.

It’s not the first time the network has forked. Back in 2015, Ethereum split into two separate chains, Ethereum and Ethereum Classic (ETC), with the latter maintaining the original code and developed by Vitalik Buterin and Gavin Wood — complete with transactions associated with The Dao hack.

Loading Tweet..
Onlookers have levied criticism at ETHPoW’s sparse “marketing whitepaper” in the leadup to its deployment.

Chandler Guo was also a primary supporter of Ethereum Classic (ETC). While ETC has remained largely dormant relative to its developer activity and user adoption, it still commands a $5.2 billion market capitalization and currently ranks 19th in the top 20 coins. 

ETC’s hash rate, which measures mining activity on the network, has repeatedly hit all-time highs leading up to the Merge, as miners speculate on which network will be most profitable once Ethereum abandons PoW. The network boasts less than 5% of Ethereum’s current hash rate.

Still, that traction has also buoyed its token price, with ETC up more than 10% on the week and more than 180% in two months.


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

Tags

Upcoming Events

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

Industry City | Brooklyn, NY

TUES - THURS, JUNE 24 - 26, 2025

Permissionless IV serves as the definitive gathering for crypto’s technical founders, developers, and builders to come together and create the future.If you’re ready to shape the future of crypto, Permissionless IV is where it happens.

Brooklyn, NY

SUN - MON, JUN. 22 - 23, 2025

Blockworks and Cracked Labs are teaming up for the third installment of the Permissionless Hackathon, happening June 22–23, 2025 in Brooklyn, NY. This is a 36-hour IRL builder sprint where developers, designers, and creatives ship real projects solving real problems across […]

recent research

Featured.png

Research

Helium stands at a pivotal moment in its evolution as a decentralized wireless network, balancing rapid growth, economic restructuring, and global expansion. With accelerated growth in domestic DAUs and Hotspots supporting its network, Helium is leveraging strategic partnerships and innovative proposals to scale internationally. The recent implementation of HIP 138, “Return to HNT,” has unified its token economy under HNT, simplifying participation and strengthening liquidity, while HIP 139’s phase-out of CBRS refocuses efforts on scalable Wi-Fi offload. Meanwhile, governance shifts under HIP 141 raise questions about centralization as Nova Labs consolidates control over the roadmap.

article-image

The DeFi Education Fund has ideas on how the crypto-friendly SEC can bring Commissioner Peirce’s vision to life

article-image

“Be prepared to do more with less,” Framework Ventures’ Michael Anderson said

article-image

Q1 may have been “frustrating,” but things are looking brighter for Q2

article-image

Tokens worth 20% of the current supply of the TRUMP memecoin launched by the president are set to be unlocked tomorrow

article-image

A crypto-industry lawsuit is “moot” now that Joint Resolution 25 has been signed into law

article-image

Fed Chair Powell assured markets that the labor market is in “good place,” dependent on price stability