- The core development team behind the EthereumPoW blockchain has decided to dissolve itself to make EthereumPoW fully decentralized and autonomous.
- EthereumPoW forked from Ethereum before the Merge to preserve proof-of-work (PoW). It aims to operate through decentralized governance without central leadership.
- However, EthereumPoW has struggled, with declining ETHW token prices and lack of adoption. This raises questions about its viability long-term without core developer support.
The core development team behind the Ethereum proof-of-work (PoW) blockchain has decided to disband. This move aims to make EthereumPoW fully autonomous and decentralized.
Background on EthereumPoW
The EthereumPoW blockchain forked from the Ethereum mainnet in September 2022, right before the network transitioned from PoW to proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus through the Merge upgrade. The PoW fork was created by developers and miners dissatisfied with the increased centralization and loss of mining revenue that came with the Merge.
Dissolving the Core Team
According to a December 19th announcement, the core EthereumPoW development team will dissolve itself to remove central leadership over the chain. Existing EthereumPoW servers will be transferred to OneDAO, a decentralized protocol, for transitional maintenance.
Long-term, the goal is for EthereumPoW to operate through decentralized governance, becoming a “deity-less public chain” that preserves PoW consensus. The feasibility of ETHW operating independently without core support has already been validated.
Decline of ETHW Tokens
ETHW, the native token of EthereumPoW, reached an all-time high of $100 in August 2022 at launch. However, it has since fallen dramatically to just $2.59. Its total market capitalization now stands at $279 million.
In September, exchange-traded fund operator Grayscale decided to stop supporting ETHW tokens due to lack of liquidity and custodial support. This highlights the chain’s ongoing struggles to build meaningful adoption.
The Future of EthereumPoW
With the official disbanding of its core development team, EthereumPoW faces an uncertain future. It aims to continue as a fully decentralized, PoW-based blockchain. However, declining ETHW prices and lack of support from key players like Grayscale paint a bleak picture of its viability long-term.
