Ethereum

Coinbase Announces It Will ‘Evaluate Any Ethereum Fork Tokens Following the Merge’

Coinbase Discloses It Will 'Evaluate Any ETH Fork Tokens Following The Merge'

Coinbase Global, a publicly traded company, has announced that it will evaluate any forks that may arise from The Merge, the forthcoming Ethereum upgrade. Coinbase Global recently posted that a new Ethereum proof of work (PoW token) will be created and “will be evaluated with the same rigore as any other asset listed on the exchange.”

Coinbase Informs the Public about the Possibility for an Ethereum Fork Arising Post-Merge

The Merge is coming soon and data shows it is roughly 16 days away from now. The Merge is Ethereum’s plan to move from a proof of work (PoW), consensus algorithm to a proof-of stake (PoS), consensus scheme. Now despite the fact that a PoW network similar to ETH already exists in Ethereum Classic (ETC), there’s been talk of creating a new PoW fork when The Merge is implemented.

Coinbase Discloses It Will 'Evaluate Any ETH Fork Tokens Following The Merge' — ETHW market data via coinmarketcap.com on August 28, 2022 at 11: 00 a.m. (EST).

The proposed ETH PoW fork has gained market traction as a number of crypto exchanges have created IOU token versions called ETHW. At the time of writing, ETHW is changing hands for $49 per unit and its up close to 5% during the past 24 hours. This past week on August 25, Coinbase Global (Nasdaq: COIN) updated a blog post that was originally published on August 16. The latest update concerns the possibility of an ETH PoW fork arising from The Merge.

The intentions of the blog post explained how Coinbase plans to pause any Ethereum or ERC20-based transactions amid The Merge. The recent update says: “Should an ETH PoW fork arise following The Merge, this asset will be reviewed with the same rigor as any other asset that is listed on our exchange.” Coinbase also tweeted about the update on Twitter the same day.

“Coinbase’s goal is to list all assets that are legal and safe to list,” the exchange said in a tweet. “We will evaluate any ETH fork tokens following The Merge on a case-by-case basis in alignment with our standard asset listing policy. All potential forked tokens of Ethereum will be subject to the same listing review as any other asset on our exchange, Coinbase said.

It’s well-known that exchanges can take as long and as they wish to distribute forked assets. Some trading platforms, however, have not offered support for specific cryptoforks. Coinbase made similar decisions in the Ethereum Classic and Bitcoin Cash forks. Veteran crypto participants know that it is best to hold assets that might experience a fork in non-custodial ways. This is to ensure you get a forked asset if a split occurs.

This story contains tags

bitcoin cash, Blog Post, Blog Post Update, COIN, Coinbase, coinbase global, coinbase listings, Coinbase Update, ETC, ETH, ETH fork, ETH PoW Fork, ether, Ethereum, Ethereum (ETH), Ethereum Classic, ETHW, ETHW markets, ETHW value, Fork Listing, Forked Token, market value ETHW, Merge Update, Nasdaq: COIN, The Merge

What do you think about Coinbase’s decision about possibly listing the proposed PoW version of Ethereum called ETHW? Please comment below to let us know your thoughts on this topic.

Jamie Redman

Jamie Redman, the News Lead at Bitcoin.com News, is a Florida-based financial journalist. 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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Ethereum

Ethereum Derivatives Traders Position for $4K Rebound, Data Shows

Ethereum ( ETH) derivatives traders are back in full swing, with open interest, volume, and options activity all flashing signs of renewed energy across futures and options markets. ETH Max Pain Sits Near $3,300 as Traders Eye Key Expiry Levels At 10 a.m. Eastern time on Nov…
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Ethereum

ETH2 Beacon Deposit Contract Now Controls 60% Of All Ethereum: Arkham

Rain Lohmus bought $75,000 worth of ETH in 2014, which is now worth $871 million. Yet, he cannot move even a single coin.

New on-chain research from Arkham Intelligence this week shows that the wallet address holding the most ETH today is not an individual, not an exchange, not an ETF issuer, but the staking contract that secures Ethereum.

According to Arkham, the ETH2 Beacon Deposit Contract currently holds more than 72.4 million ETH, worth around $252 billion at current market prices, and represents approximately 60% of the total supply.

Ethereum’s Power Center

In terms of individuals, the research firm confirmed that the largest known individual holder of ETH is still Rain Lohmus, the founder of Estonian bank LHV, who bought 250,000 ETH in the 2014 presale for around $75,000. Those coins would now be worth roughly $871 million, but Lohmus does not have access to them because he lost the private keys years ago.

The second largest identifiable individual holder is Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin, who currently holds around 240,000 ETH, worth around $840 million.

Beyond individual wallets, centralized exchanges and institutional entities collectively control some of the largest pools of Ether. Binance, for one, holds approximately 4.09 million ETH, while asset manager BlackRock holds around 3.94 million ETH, largely associated with its iShares Ethereum Trust ETF. Coinbase is the next largest institutional holder, with approximately 3.5 million ETH across multiple addresses, including cold wallets and staking reserves for its cbETH staking token.

Following suit are Upbit, Robinhood, Kraken, OKX, and Bitfinex, which appear among the top institutional holders.

Seized Funds, Stolen Funds, and Layer-2 Bridges

Arkham found that governments also appear on the leaderboard. For instance, the United States government controls around 60,000 ETH, which largely consists of seized criminal funds, including from the Potapenko/Turogin case and from seizures related to the Bitfinex hacker.

Ethereum

Ethereum Traders Just Flipped Bullish, But History Says This Is a Major Red Flag

Ethereum’s bounce toward $3,500 triggered instant FOMO, but Santiment says extreme optimism usually means price is about to disappoint.

Ethereum traders have swung sharply from extreme bearishness to extreme bullishness within just a few days, based on social media sentiment.

But fresh data suggest that when ETH nearly rebounded to $3,500 on Thursday, the crowd interpreted the move as a confirmation that the asset was “back in business.”

ETH Trader FOMO

Santiment warned that this sudden pivot is similar to the same pattern seen earlier in the week, when retail panic selling actually contributed to the rebound. Now, the rapid return of FOMO could similarly stall further upside.

According to the analytics platform, prices have shown a tendency to move in the opposite direction of the crowd, and that more neutral sentiment phases have proven to be stronger buy signal environments than euphoric ones.

Crypto trader Ted Pillows also noted that even though the altcoin is showing some rebound after this week’s sharp decline, the recovery lacks conviction. According to Pillows, the current move higher, though modest, is being driven largely by short positions being closed rather than new spot buyers stepping in. He added that Ethereum needs to reclaim the $3,600-$3,700 price range with meaningful inflows to establish strength and dismiss the risk of further downside. Without that confirmation, Pillows believes the odds still favor lower prices from here.

Despite the near-term uncertainty, some traders say the bigger picture is still pointing toward a substantial upside scenario. For instance, crypto trader “Trader Tradigrade” said that ETH’s monthly chart is currently developing what he describes as a massive Inverse Head and Shoulders pattern, with a potential price target of $14,000 once confirmed.

“Wet Blanket” Phase

As the crypto market remains sluggish, Galaxy CEO Mike Novogratz believes that this could be due to long-term holders rebalancing their net worths and diversifying away from massive concentrated holdings after a very long bull market. Novogratz deems this to be a healthy sign in the medium and long term as these positions get distributed. In the short run, however, he said that “it’s a proverbial wet blanket” and has weighed on prices.

About the author

Chayanika has been working as a financial journalist for six years. A graduate in Political Science and Journalism, her interest lies in regulatory implications with a focus on technological evolution in the crypto realm.