Source: iStock/Photographer, Filmmaker, Designer
Ethereum core developers have announced rather suddenly that the long-discussed programmatic proof-of-work (ProgPoW) will be implemented as a part of the hard fork scheduled to follow the planned Berlin upgrade. This has once again split the community into different camps of opinion.
Two years after its proposal, criticized even by many Ethereum developers, ProgPoW will be arriving to Ethereum. Core developers have agreed during a call last Friday to go with the EIP 1962 (Ethereum Improvement Proposal) that will bring additional cryptographic functions, tentatively set for June 2020, with the ProgPoW hard fork following it three weeks later, in July 2020, bringing forth a new mining algorithm.
As a reminder, there's an ever-present fear of re-centralization of crypto, the cause of which some say could be the expansion of ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit) chips, which can mine cryptocurrency more efficiently than GPUs (graphics processing units) and CPUs (central processing units), but which are also so expensive that only the biggest companies can run them. Ethereum team's solution to this was agreeing to implement ASIC mining hardware resistance after testing the proposed code, so to effectively block ASIC chips usage with the update dubbed ProgPoW and replace it with GPU hardware, so that GPU mining remains competitive.
Meanwhile, ProgPow-related EIP 1057 states that the goal is "to resist the centralization of PoW [proof of work] mining power such that these coins couldnt be so easily manipulated by a few players." The proposal adds that the algorithm is not backwards compatible with the existing Ethash, that it will require a fork for adoption, and that the network hashrate will halve "since twice as much memory is loaded per hash."
On the other side stand many developers and ETH supporters who fear that this may result in exchanges running two versions of Ethereum, with the old and the new mining algorithm, which would mean a chain split on two blockchains with different mining rules. Other reasons against it include the opinion that core developers have too much power, as well as the unwillingness to "hold tokens of a chain that hard forks against the will of the majority of its users," as Gnosis founder and OpenEthereum maintainer Martin Kppelmann says.
James Hancock, Ethereum Hardfork Coordinator, believes that a split won't happen, stating in the call: "I have not seen any evidence that there is an ideological or people willing to step up and actually have a network split. If Im wrong Ill resign as hardfork coordinator."
Watch the latest reports by Block TV.
Meanwhile, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin criticized the way in which the decision was made. "It went from "phew, this thing is gone and has not been talked about for quite a while" to "OMG it's now SCHEDULED FOR THE NEXT HARDFORK???!" within the span of 1.5 hours," he writes.
Eric Conner, Gnosis product researcher and Ethereum advocate, argues that EIP should be discussed thoroughly on multiple forums, and that if "there is any hint of contention from a large set of community members," per EIP 1, that EIP "should die there." Conner refuses to run a ProgPoW version of Ethereum.
Others, like Ethereum core developer Hudson Jameson, and Igor Lilic, Principal Tech Lead at ConsenSys, are calling for a mature debate, as is part of the process, without targeting individuals.
__
__
___
Learn more: Ethereum 2.0 Phase 0 'Certainly' Coming This Year, Deadline Unknown
Go here to read the rest:
Ethereum ProgPow Set for July Amid Heavy Opposition - Cryptonews
- How does Ethereum work - Medium - February 3rd, 2018 [February 3rd, 2018]
- Ethereum - BTCMANAGER - February 19th, 2018 [February 19th, 2018]
- This Giant Infographic Compares Bitcoin, Ethereum, and ... - February 19th, 2018 [February 19th, 2018]
- What is Ethereum? | CryptoCompare.com - February 23rd, 2018 [February 23rd, 2018]
- The Top 10 Best Ethereum Wallets (2018 Edition) - February 23rd, 2018 [February 23rd, 2018]
- Ethereum fixes serious eclipse flaw that could be exploited ... - March 7th, 2018 [March 7th, 2018]
- How does Ethereum work, anyway? - Medium - April 25th, 2018 [April 25th, 2018]
- Free-Ethereum.com - Free Ether! - May 31st, 2018 [May 31st, 2018]
- What is Ethereum? | The Ultimate Beginners' Guide - June 20th, 2018 [June 20th, 2018]
- Ethereum Mining Guide for AMD and NVidia GPUs - Windows ... - June 20th, 2018 [June 20th, 2018]
- Ethereum: Blockchains, Digital Assets, Smart Contracts ... - July 16th, 2018 [July 16th, 2018]
- Ethereum Price - Mobile Friendly Price of Ether - July 16th, 2018 [July 16th, 2018]
- Ethereum Soars with over a 2,800% Rally - Coin News Asia - July 28th, 2018 [July 28th, 2018]
- Ethereum Co-Founder Joseph Lubin Says Speculators Driving ... - August 20th, 2018 [August 20th, 2018]
- Bitcoin and Ethereum: A Look At The Week Ahead - September 2nd, 2018 [September 2nd, 2018]
- EthereumPrice - Official Site - October 3rd, 2018 [October 3rd, 2018]
- Ethereum Classic Price Analysis: ETC/USD Could Revisit $12 - October 6th, 2018 [October 6th, 2018]
- Ethplorer Ethereum tokens explorer and data viewer. Top ... - October 6th, 2018 [October 6th, 2018]
- Buy and Sell Ether With The Peer-to-Peer Ethereum ... - October 6th, 2018 [October 6th, 2018]
- Ethereum Price - CoinDesk - October 18th, 2018 [October 18th, 2018]
- EthereumPrice.org - USD Price, Charts & History - October 18th, 2018 [October 18th, 2018]
- Report: Whales Accumulate Ethereum (ETH) En-Masse Amid Bear ... - December 7th, 2018 [December 7th, 2018]
- GitHub - ethereum/go-ethereum: Official Go implementation of ... - December 7th, 2018 [December 7th, 2018]
- Ethererum Crypto-Economics Index Real-time Price Charts and ... - December 7th, 2018 [December 7th, 2018]
- Ethereum Definition | Investopedia - December 7th, 2018 [December 7th, 2018]
- What is Ethereum Gas: Step-By-Step Guide - Blockgeeks - December 19th, 2018 [December 19th, 2018]
- Ethereum Price Analysis: ETH Could Extend Losses Below $80 ... - December 19th, 2018 [December 19th, 2018]
- Ethereum Price Analysis: ETH Could Turn Bullish Above $90 ... - December 19th, 2018 [December 19th, 2018]
- Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple Prices Surge Higher; FOMO Santa Rally? - December 26th, 2018 [December 26th, 2018]
- Ethereum Co-Founder Calls the Cryptobottom of 2018 ... - December 26th, 2018 [December 26th, 2018]
- Part 1: Ethereum vs NEO Which blockchain will provide ... - December 31st, 2018 [December 31st, 2018]
- Ethereum Price Analysis: ETH Corrects Sharply, Can It Hold ... - December 31st, 2018 [December 31st, 2018]
- Ethereum: JPMorgan, Microsoft, Banks Form ... - fortune.com - January 3rd, 2019 [January 3rd, 2019]
- Ethereum News | Ethereum News today | Latest Ethereum News - January 3rd, 2019 [January 3rd, 2019]
- Ethereum (ETH) - Price, Chart, Info | CryptoSlate - January 3rd, 2019 [January 3rd, 2019]
- Ethereum Cash Pro - January 3rd, 2019 [January 3rd, 2019]
- What Is Ethereum? Here's What You Need To Know - January 3rd, 2019 [January 3rd, 2019]
- What is Ethereum? | The Ultimate Beginners Guide - January 27th, 2019 [January 27th, 2019]
- Ethereum Classic - A smarter blockchain that takes digital ... - January 27th, 2019 [January 27th, 2019]
- Ethereum Price Analysis: ETH Relatively Muted, Next Move ... - January 27th, 2019 [January 27th, 2019]
- Buy and Sell Ether With The Peer-to-Peer Ethereum Marketplace ... - January 27th, 2019 [January 27th, 2019]
- What is Ethereum? | The Ultimate Beginners' Guide - CoinCentral - January 30th, 2019 [January 30th, 2019]
- Ethereum Price Analysis: ETH Breaks Down, Turned Sell on ... - January 30th, 2019 [January 30th, 2019]
- Ethereum Price Analysis: ETH Remains Sell Near $128 ... - March 6th, 2019 [March 6th, 2019]
- Ethereum Price Analysis: ETH Remains Sell Near $128, Target ... - March 11th, 2019 [March 11th, 2019]
- Create a cryptocurrency contract in Ethereum - March 11th, 2019 [March 11th, 2019]
- Ethereum Price Analysis: ETH Buyers Wont Give Up Easily ... - March 11th, 2019 [March 11th, 2019]
- Buy and Sell ETH With The Peer-to-Peer Ethereum Marketplace ... - March 18th, 2019 [March 18th, 2019]
- Ethereum Technical Analysis - FXStreet - March 18th, 2019 [March 18th, 2019]
- Ethereum - Investopedia - March 18th, 2019 [March 18th, 2019]
- Ethereum - reddit - March 18th, 2019 [March 18th, 2019]
- Ethereum vs Bitcoin: The Battle for the Crypto Throne - Coindoo - March 18th, 2019 [March 18th, 2019]
- Ethereum Price Analysis: ETH Could Make a Sustained Move ... - March 18th, 2019 [March 18th, 2019]
- Ethereum Project - March 18th, 2019 [March 18th, 2019]
- Ethereum - Official Site - April 20th, 2019 [April 20th, 2019]
- Ethereum (ETH) Price Starts Much Awaited Rebound To $170 - May 9th, 2019 [May 9th, 2019]
- Ethereum Price Analysis: ETH Corrects But More Upsides Likely ... - May 9th, 2019 [May 9th, 2019]
- Ethereum Price Analysis: ETH Primed For Additional Losses ... - May 9th, 2019 [May 9th, 2019]
- Ethereum Won't Fail: Joseph Lubin - ccn.com - May 9th, 2019 [May 9th, 2019]
- Ethereum (ETH) Price Starts Fresh Increase: Bitcoin Leading ... - May 9th, 2019 [May 9th, 2019]
- Bitcoin Booming As Ethereum, Ripple's XRP, EOS And Litecoin ... - May 9th, 2019 [May 9th, 2019]
- Ethereum Bounty Program - May 30th, 2019 [May 30th, 2019]
- Dark Horses of dApps: 6 Blockchains With Ethereum In Their Sights - Crypto Briefing - October 21st, 2019 [October 21st, 2019]
- Latin Americans get two new ways to trade Bitcoin, Ethereum, and more - Decrypt - October 21st, 2019 [October 21st, 2019]
- Ethereums Bearish Wave Count Outlined by Cryptocurrency Analyst - BeInCrypto - October 21st, 2019 [October 21st, 2019]
- XRPs Third Quarter Inflation Rate Was Lower Than Ethereum (ETH) and Litecoin (LTC) - SludgeFeed - October 21st, 2019 [October 21st, 2019]
- Ethereum (ETH) Dives To $170, Is $160 Next Bear Target? - newsBTC - October 21st, 2019 [October 21st, 2019]
- Thomson Reuters: Bringing Smart Contracts to the Mainstream With Ethereum & Chainlink - Blockonomi - October 21st, 2019 [October 21st, 2019]
- Crypto Analyst: Ethereum Has Bottomed, Expected To See Extended Rally - newsBTC - October 21st, 2019 [October 21st, 2019]
- WATCH: MyCrypto CEO Taylor Monahan on Crypto Adoption and Ethereum - Coindesk - October 21st, 2019 [October 21st, 2019]
- Cryptocurrency market update: Kicks of a dying horse as Bitcoin, Ethereum and Ripple remain suppressed - FXStreet - October 24th, 2019 [October 24th, 2019]
- Cryptocurrencies price prediction: Bitcoin, Ethereum & Litecoin - American Wrap - 22 October - FXStreet - October 24th, 2019 [October 24th, 2019]
- Ethereums gas prices show an unusual surge when the Asian market sleeps - AMBCrypto - October 24th, 2019 [October 24th, 2019]
- Whale Consolidates $88M Worth of Ethereum in Two Transactions - BeInCrypto - October 24th, 2019 [October 24th, 2019]
- Ethereum Falls 10% In Selloff - Yahoo Finance - October 24th, 2019 [October 24th, 2019]
- TRON Joins Bitcoin And Ethereum On Opera Browser - Crypto Briefing - October 24th, 2019 [October 24th, 2019]
- Ethereum (ETH) Rebound Faces Major Hurdle Near $180 - newsBTC - October 24th, 2019 [October 24th, 2019]
- Ethereum Breakout Above $360 Means Skys the Limit, Believes Cryptocurrency Analyst - BeInCrypto - October 24th, 2019 [October 24th, 2019]
- Ethereum Futures: The Next Big Derivative to Hit the Market? - Cointelegraph - October 24th, 2019 [October 24th, 2019]
- Ethereum and Stellars Lumen Daily Tech Analysis 23/10/19 - Yahoo Finance - October 24th, 2019 [October 24th, 2019]