Ethereum Proof-of-Work Fork Timing Posted

The fork will occur 24 hours following the Merge, according to an @EthereumPoW Twitter thread.

AccessTimeIconSep 13, 2022 at 2:14 a.m. UTC
Updated May 11, 2023 at 5:35 p.m. UTC
10 Years of Decentralizing the Future
May 29-31, 2024 - Austin, TexasThe biggest and most established global hub for everything crypto, blockchain and Web3.Register Now

Ethereum's proof-of-work fork will occur 24 hours following the Merge, according to a thread posted Monday on the @EthereumPoW Twitter feed.

The thread did not specify a precise time, saying this information would "be announced 1 hour before launch with a countdown timer." The Merge is expected to take place on Thursday.

"...Everything including final code, binaries, config files, nodes info, RPC, explorer, etc. will be made public when the time’s up," the thread said.

The ETHW mainnet will begin at "the block height of the Merge block 'plus' 2048 empty blocks" to ensure that the chainID converts to 10001 and that "the chain is the longest ... of ETHW.

Merge block +2049 will be the first to note any transactions on ETHW. "Block rewards for the empty blocks will be directed to the 1559 multi-sig wallet," the thread said.

The Merge is a technological overhaul of the Ethereum blockchain that will shift its protocol from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake. Merge advocates say the change will make the blockchain faster and more energy efficient.

Some of Ethereum’s miners – those who run computers to process and validate transactions on the current proof-of-work (PoW) network – plan to keep the old network up and running.

The forked network will look and feel like Ethereum, but it will only be a skeleton of the real thing, with apps and tokens floating around without usage or value.

Justin Sun is a cheerleader for the EthereumPOW token (ETHW), but questions remain about how much traction it can possibly get when it's up against the already established Ethereum Classic blockchain, which maintains PoW. Market cap and trade volumes will have the answer to this question in a few weeks.





Disclosure

Please note that our privacy policy, terms of use, cookies, and do not sell my personal information has been updated.

CoinDesk is an award-winning media outlet that covers the cryptocurrency industry. Its journalists abide by a strict set of editorial policies. In November 2023, CoinDesk was acquired by the Bullish group, owner of Bullish, a regulated, digital assets exchange. The Bullish group is majority-owned by Block.one; both companies have interests in a variety of blockchain and digital asset businesses and significant holdings of digital assets, including bitcoin. CoinDesk operates as an independent subsidiary with an editorial committee to protect journalistic independence. CoinDesk employees, including journalists, may receive options in the Bullish group as part of their compensation.

James Rubin

James Rubin was CoinDesk's U.S. news editor based on the West Coast.


Learn more about Consensus 2024, CoinDesk's longest-running and most influential event that brings together all sides of crypto, blockchain and Web3. Head to consensus.coindesk.com to register and buy your pass now.