Ethereum Cofounder, Michael Arrington, has spoken out against the whispers in the Ethereum community that the proof-of-Work (PoW) days are coming back. Vitalik Buterin Buterin has put an end definitively to this debate by stating that PoW is not immune from centralization. Buterin believes that with Ethereum’s move to Proof of Stake, centralization was left largely untouched.
Buterin supported his position by revealing the stark truth: Under PoW, only a handful of mining pools held disproportionate power over Ethereum’s networks. Visual representation showed that 76% of Ethereum’s network was controlled by a handful of mining pools. ETH Mining power is concentrated in just five pools. Spark Pool and Ethermine are the two major ones, commanding collectively over half the production of altcoins.
PoW also tended to be a centralized system. Just because it was a temporary phase, everyone was not as vocal about the topic.
The fact that we avoided ASICs largely because of the PoS switch is another factor. pic.twitter.com/OhaqmRiiGJ
— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) April 26, 2024 Buterin has defended the switch from staking to Ethereum, which is fueled by legal disputes, including those with SEC. SEC allegations that Ethereum’s consensus system is linked to security issues have caused delays to the launch of Ethereum ETFsThe regulatory environment for cryptocurrency is being impacted by this.
The inclusion of Dogecoin Litecoin Bitcoin Cash and derivatives of these cryptocurrencies on the leading American crypto exchange Coinbase also fuels the debate.
You can also read about the advantages of using Ethereum Buterin’s firm stance is a response to the nostalgic nostalgia for mining dominance. While this is a transitional period, lingering questions remain: was the switch from mining to stake truly for the best?