In 32 days, Ethereum is expected to upgrade from a proof-of-work (PoW) consensus algorithm to a proof-of-stake (PoS) system after the network used PoW for seven years. Although the new rules have been implemented on testnets, most people expect a smooth transition to the mainnet. Another chain is expected to fork away Ethereum’s branch. The proposed fork, ETHW, has gained market value in a few IOU exchanges since August 8. Despite all the gains, the token’s USD value has fallen more than half in six days.
While ETHW Captures Value, Proposed Ethereum Fork Token’s Price Shudders by More Than 53%
Ever since the bitcoin miner Chandler Guo started talking about a new proof-of-work (PoW) version of Ethereum, after the chain transitions to proof-of-stake (PoS), the idea has gained some traction. The crypto asset exchange Poloniex revealed the launch of ETHW markets and there’s a new website called ethereumpow.org.
Statistics from coinmarketcap.com indicate that MEXC, Digifinex, Gate.io, and Poloniex list ETHW IOU markets. But the ETHW site also claims to have connections with a number of “communities, exchanges, miners and individuals [that] have worked together to make ETHW possible.” Twitter vertical trends show that the ETHW fork is controversial among die-hard Ethereum supporters and Ethereum Classic supporters have chimed in as well.
ETHW or ETH PoW fork/IOU token against the U.S. dollar on August 14, 2022.
The website shows connections through ETHW exchange listings, and alleged mining supporters with mentioned businesses such as Binance, FTX, Antpool, Poolin, Coincheck, Huobi, Hiveon, Flexpool.io, 2miners.com, F2pool, and Bitfly. ETHW has been listed at IOU exchanges for approximately six days.
Ethereumpow.org also claims it has a bridge partner and advertises Bridgetech’s logo on the site. When markets officially launched and ETHW came out the gate, the value jumped to an all-time high of around $141. 36 per unit.
Since then, ETHW has lost 53% in value and compared to ETH’s current value, ETHW represents 3.2% at current market prices. ETHW tapped an all-time low on August 10, 2022, reaching $65. 17 per coin and it’s up 1.9% at the time of writing, trading for roughly $66. 10 per unit.
There are 5 main differences between this ETH1-ETH2 fork and the ETC-ETH fork. (1) The ETC-ETH fork was mainly due to ideology. It was PoW against PoW. The miners could choose which chain was more profitable.
ETHW’s value is more comparable to ethereum classic’s (ETC) current value, which is around $43. 86 per unit at the time of writing. That means ETHW is $23 higher in USD value today than ETC‘s current value. Yet many crypto supporters have discussed how ETC was created for ideological reasons while ETHW is being called a “money grab.”
So Far, There’s Been No Meaningful Rises in Ethereum Classic’s Hashrate
Most of the mining pools mentioned on ethereumpow.org already mine ethereum classic (ETC). For instance, 2miners.com is the second largestETC mining pool, dedicating close to six terahash per second (TH/s) to ETC‘s PoW network.
If even one of these mining pools, which allegedly supports the chain, starts mining it, ETHW could become a reality. Presently, dozens of ethereum mining pools are seemingly mining ETH to the very end, as the crypto asset’s rise has made it quite valuable to do so.
ETH’s hashrate is much larger than ETC‘s and so far, there’s been no meaningful rises in ETC’s hashrate, except for the initial spike on July 28, 2022. Ethereum is currently one of the most profitable crypto networks to mine today, as Bitmain’s new Antminer E9, with 2.4 gigahash per second (GH/s) or 0.0024 TH/s, can get an estimated profit of around $63. 43 per day.
What do you think about the proposed Ethereum fork and how the IOU token has already shed half of its value this past week? Please comment below to let us know your thoughts on this topic.
Jamie Redman
Jamie Redman, a journalist and financial tech expert living in Florida, is the News Lead at Bitcoin.com News. Redman has been an active member of the cryptocurrency community since 2011. Redman is passionate about Bitcoin, open-source codes, and decentralized applications. Since September 2015, Redman has written more than 5,700 articles for Bitcoin.com News about the disruptive protocols emerging today.
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Spot Ethereum ETF Demand Outpaces Bitcoin’s – Is a Flippening Coming?
Following the solid end in January, the spot Bitcoin ETFs have shown some mixed reactions to the macroeconomic uncertainty that started with US President Trump’s tariffs.
In contrast, the Ethereum ETFs have enjoyed the past week by registering more net inflows than their BTC counterparts for the first time.
Ethereum ETFs See Substantial Demand
Recall that the Ethereum ETF start in late July last year was anything but impressive as investors were in a hurry to move their funds out of the Grayscale Trust, which was now converted into a spot exchange-traded fund. Unlike the case with BTC, though, where they transferred most of the amount toward IBIT and other ETFs, all Ethereum products were in the red for many weeks.
However, things changed a few weeks after the US elections, and the ETFs had a 19 consecutive day period with only net inflows or at least no reportable outflows. A similar but smaller streak was recovered in mid-January and in the past week and a half as well. January 29 was the last date for net outflows from the spot ETH ETFs, with a minor $4.7 million exiting the funds.
Since then, it’s been well in the green or no outflows. The past week alone saw $83.6 million poured in on Monday, a remarkable $307.8 million on Tuesday, and a more modest $18.1 million on Wednesday, as well as $10.7 million on Thursday. Friday was a no-action day.
This puts the total for the week at $420.2 million, which is quite impressive given the economic uncertainty. In the meantime, though, ETH’s price has tumbled by more than 14% and now struggles to remain above $2,600.
Different Bitcoin Story
The spot Bitcoin ETFs, which recently celebrated their first birthday, had a different week. On Monday, the first business day following the tariffs against China, Mexico, and Canada, investors withdrew $234.4 million from the funds, followed by another $140.2 million on Thursday.
The positive numbers on Tuesday ($340 million), Wednesday ($66.4 million), and Friday ($171.3 million) managed to offset the losses, and the BTC ETFs finished the week at $203.8 million in net inflows. However, it signals a major shift (or flippening, if you will) between the Ethereum ETFs and the Bitcoin counterparts.
Within this timeframe, BTC’s price also went south hard, dumping to under $92,000 on Monday, but has lost a more modest 3% on a weekly scale, compared to ETH’s 14% drop.
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Ethereum L2 Taiko and DoraHacks Are Launching the Largest Anonymous Community Vote in Crypto History
[PRESS RELEASE – Singapore, Singapore, February 7th, 2025]
Taiko, an Ethereum Layer 2 network, and DoraHacks, the largest hacker movement in crypto, are spearheading the biggest anonymous community vote ever conducted in Web3. The initiative aims to advance decentralization in community governance through the Taiko Grant Factory Hackathon.
The Taiko Grant Factory Hackathon is designed to unleash developer creativity—driving innovation, interactive applications, and projects with real-world impact. After months of intense competition, the finalists are now heading into the voting phase—one of the biggest steps yet toward large-scale, community-driven decision-making.
At the core of this vote is Minimal Anti-Collusion Infrastructure (MACI), a game-changing privacy-preserving and collusion-resistant voting mechanism originally conceptualized by Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin. Vitalik has long pointed out the fundamental flaws of traditional voting systems—fraud, collusion, privacy leaks—and MACI is Ethereum’s answer to fixing them. Dora Factory, the decentralized governance protocol, carried Vitalik’s mission and shipped the best MACI product the market has seen.
For the final round of Taiko’s Grant Factory Hackathon, voting will be executed entirely on-chain via MACI, ensuring encrypted ballots, zero-knowledge proof integrity, and protection against vote buying and collusion. Users will submit their votes through smart contracts, with timestamps recorded on-chain, making the process transparent yet private. At the end of the voting round, results will be revealed by the designated operator, ensuring both fairness and credibility. As an incentive, Taiko is distributing 50,000 Trailblazer points to participants, which will later translate into an airdrop.
“This is decentralization in action,” says Ben Wan, Taiko’s Community Director. “We’re thrilled to bring MACI to this scale and grateful to the community for participating in Taiko’s growth. The future of Ethereum is decentralized, and we’re here to make that happen—together.”
This vote isn’t just big—it’s historic. Over 920,000 participants are taking part, making it the largest whitelisted anonymous community vote in Ethereum’s history
The voting event has attracted significant participation, with more than 920,000 individuals expected to take part, making it one of the largest whitelisted anonymous community votes in Ethereum’s history.
Steve Ngok, Partner at DoraHacks, adds: “We’re incredibly excited to work with Taiko on launching the biggest MACI-powered vote in Ethereum history. DoraHacks and Dora Factory have committed resources to expanding Ethereum’s mission—advancing MACI for decentralized governance and privacy protection. We look forward to exploring MACI’s full potential alongside Taiko and its dynamic community.”
About DoraHacks
DoraHacks is the world’s largest hacker movement and a leading global platform for open-source funding, hackathons, and developer grants. Since its inception in 2014, DoraHacks has empowered 200,000 developers and funded 20,000 innovative startups in multiple frontier tech verticals in Web3, AI, Quantum, and more.
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Crypto Price Analysis February-07: ETH, XRP, ADA, BNB, and SOL
This week, we examine Ethereum, Ripple, Cardano, Binance Coin, and Solana in greater detail.
Ethereum (ETH)
The Monday crash took crypto by surprise during a historic liquidation event. Ethereum fell to $2,100 before it managed to recover some ground. The price is currently around $2,700 and closed the week with a 16% loss, being unable to go back above $3,000, which acts as a key resistance.
This price action has turned most charts bearish, including Ethereum, which just experienced a bearish cross on the weekly MACD. The selling volume also exploded, which shows fear in the market.
Looking ahead, Ethereum’s strongest support is currently at $2,400. Buyers have to defend this level if they want to avoid a fall below $2,000 later.
Chart by Tradingview
Ripple (XRP)
XRP’s rally ended on Monday when the price fell to $1.8 momentarily until buyers returned. This has put sellers in control, and the price ended the week with a 24% loss. This was a sharp and expensive reversal for those who were bullish and took a position above $3.
While the asset is currently at $2.3, it could easily fall to $2 and $1.6, which are major support levels. Buyers appeared interested in under $2 on Monday, but the sentiment remains bearish, and their conviction could soon be tested again.
Looking ahead, XRP just started a major correction, which may take several weeks to complete before the price decides to go higher again. The market also needs time to digest this week’s drop. Therefore, it is best to be patient here.
Chart by Tradingview
Cardano (ADA)
ADA also had a bad week after its price quickly fell to $0.5 on Monday but recovered somewhat after. Nevertheless, Cardano closes the week with a 21% loss. The momentum is bearish, and the downtrend is expected to continue.
The most important support level is found at $0.64, which could stop this nosedive. However, if the overall market sentiment remains bearish, this level could only be a short stop until a bottom is found at lower levels.
Looking ahead, Cardano is correcting sharply at the time of this post. If the $0.64 support cannot stop sellers, then the asset will likely revisit $0.5.
Chart by Tradingview
BNB’s resilience was put to the test on Monday as the price fell to $500, a price not seen since September 2024. Buyers tried to hold this cryptocurrency above $600, but they were unable to do so, considering the asset closed the week with a 15% loss.
There is good support at $550 and $500, which will likely be revisited if buyers remain shy at this time. The best BNB can hope for is a bounce that could see it test the resistance at $600. A break above this level seems unlikely at this time.
Looking ahead, as long as bulls keep BNB above $500, then it has a good shot at returning on an uptrend later once market conditions improve.
Chart by Tradingview
Solana (SOL)
Solana holders had a difficult time on Monday when the price fell under $200. They tried to bring it back above this key level, but failed after 24h, and closed the week with a 19% loss. At the time of this post, the price is around $190.
During this fall, the $200 level has turned into a key resistance, and the most important support line is now at $164. If bears continue to dominate, then SOL will likely test that support in the future.
Looking ahead, Solana’s momentum on the weekly timeframe is bearish, with the MACD and RSI making lower highs. This shows sellers are in charge, and they may hold the price under their control for quite some time. A possible reversal of this downtrend could happen in the $164 to $134 range.
Chart by Tradingview
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