The Merge: Ethereum Migrates To POS, Now What?
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Sep 17, 2022
The energy requirements of Proof-of-Work has always been a concern, often drawing comparisons with the energy consumption of sovereign states. For instance, it's difficult to hide the fact that Bitcoin consumes more energy than Norway, Pakistan and the UAE, annually.
Perhaps, more concerning is the fact that most of this energy is generated from fossil fuels.
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Bitcoin, being the first and most successful cryptocurrency and based on the Proof-of-Work model, popularized high energy appetites. The second most successful cryptocurrency - Ethereum also towed this line, at least until recently. On September 15, 2022, Ethereum successfully transited from Proof-of-Work to Proof-of-Stake.
In the aftermath of this, Binance Coin (BNB) is officially no longer the largest Proof-of-Stake by market cap, that title has been conceded to Ethereum's Ether.
Also, after Bitcoin, Ethereum now out of the forum, cedes it's position as the second largest Proof-of-Work to, wait for it, Doge. It's not quite funny that a meme coin also places a burden on the world's energy consumption.
Since Elon Musk is heavily involved in Doge, we can expect a similar transition on the dog themed Blockchain. This will mean lesser blockchains running on Proof-of-Work. The lesser the number of blockchains running on Proof-of-Work, the more the rewards have to be to make it feasible for miners, or don't you think? 🤔
Well, PoS dominance will be increased and PoW dominance will fall except if Bitcoin Maximalists take up the challenge. I'm expecting the latter to happen and it probably will be the case as Bitcoin dominance has risen in the early days following the merge.
BTC Dominance daily chart
BTC only needs to reclaim the 50% level for the dominance to be flipped and until then, PoS reigns supreme.
So, are we going to see a stronger Bitcoin in the coming days? And what will be the response of PoS to a rising Bitcoin?
Over to you.