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Ethereum's proof-of-work (PoW) powered by GPUs generated approximately $19 billion in revenue last year for ETH miners. But these revenue streams are in danger as Ethereum is expected to become a proof-of-stake (PoS) blockchain via "the Merge" upgrade in September. Miners could then revolt against the new upgrade by continuing to mine on the old Ethereum PoW after the hard fork chain split. A survey from crypto hedge fund Galois Capital recently revealed that 33.1% of respondents believe that the Merge would create two parallel blockchains: ETH1 (PoW) and ETH2 (PoS). Nevertheless, most respondents, or 53.7%, expect Ethereum's chain to smoothly transition from PoW to PoS. Is the ETH1 PoW "illogical"?But contentious hard forks aren't anything new. In fact, the current Ethereum chain came to be in 2016 following a controversial hard fork aimed at reversing a $60 million exploit, resulting in a chain split between Ethereum and Ethereum Classic (ETC). This is where the arg..

Finding real love starts with Bitcoin (BTC). That’s according to the founders of Bitcoiner dating service The Orange Pill App and LoveisBitcoin. The services join a growing list of ways in which Bitcoin enthusiasts can meet, chat and now fall in love “IRL” (in real life). But first, why do people who love Bitcoin need to connect with others who are “orange-pilled?” For George Saoulidis, cofounder of LoveisBitcoin, Bitcoiners need a dating service because money shapes our lives more than we realize: “Issues can and do arise if time preferences diverge a lot. Part of the orange-pilling process makes you see through the marketing and the propaganda to distinguish what is truly valuable: Experiences, family, friendships.”Part of the Bitcoin ethos is having a lower time preference, and not succumbing to instant gratification. Saoulidis explains that personally, he couldn’t be with a spouse that clings to “fiat spending habits,” as it clashes with core values of Bitcoin culture — thinking lo..

The Ethereum blockchain is on the verge of one of the most crucial technical updates since its inception, moving from proof-of-work (PoW) to proof-of-stake (PoS), also called Ethereum 2.0, or Eth2. Ethereum devs gave Sept. 19 as the perpetual date for the merger of the current PoW chain to the PoS chain. The Merge is expected to be deployed on the Goerli testnet in the second week of August. After the successful integration of the Goerli testnet, the blockchain will initiate the Bellatrix update in early August and roll out the Merge two weeks later. The discussion around the transition began with a focus on scalability, so Ethereum developers proposed a three-phase transformation process. The transition itself is nearly two years in the making, starting on Dec. 1, 2020, with the launch of Beacon Chain, initiating Phase 0 of the three-phase process. The Beacon Chain began the shift to PoS, enabling users to stake their Ether (ETH) and become validators. However, Phase 0 did not affect..

When the last Bitcoin (BTC) is finally mined, the livelihood of miners who rely on block rewards as a source of income will be affected. Despite this, the future of mining stays promising, according to an expert in the space. In a Cointelegraph interview, Mohamed El Masri, the founder of mining solutions provider PermianChain, talked about new players jumping into mining, the future of mining and what happens to mine profitability after the 21 millionth BTC is minted. El Masri highlighted that efficiency is a very important focus that new players in the space must take into consideration. Because mining profit depends on how efficient a mining operation is, the executive noted that efficiency brings the cost of energy down to a minimum. When asked about the future of the mining space, the executive shared that it’s not always about profit. El Masri said that the future of the mining sector relies on what he described as the “real Bitcoin miners” who value solving blocks more than ho..

Data from the United States commerce department suggests America has entered a technical recession, but market analysts have highlighted key metrics that suggest investors are optimistic. The American economy shrunk for the second consecutive quarter, according to government data released on Thursday, fitting the criteria for a technical recession. The Biden Administration maintains that the U.S. is not in a recession, highlighting low unemployment rates and other metrics that counter the argument. Mati Greenspan, founder & CEO of Quantum Economics, addressed the topic in his latest QE newsletter, noting a paradoxical effect between the GDP drop and a surge in stocks and other risk assets. He attributed this move to the U.S. Federal Reserve’s decision to raise interest rates by 0.75%, which saw cryptocurrency markets outperform stocks, with Ethere (ETH) surging 5% immediately after the announcement. Related: Bitcoin bull run ‘getting interesting’ as BTC price hits 6-week high Greenspa..

Bitcoin (BTC) sought to pin $24,000 as support before the July 29 Wall Street open as fresh inflation data sparked worries for the euro. BTC/USD 1-hour candle chart (Bitstamp). Source: TradingViewEurozone inflation estimate shows no peakData from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD maintaining most of its latest gains after spiking to nearly $24,500 overnight. The day’s macro action delivered painful news for the European Economic Area (EEA), as the latest estimates for euro inflation came in at 8.9% for July — still climbing from June’s 8.6%. “Looking at the main components of euro area inflation, energy is expected to have the highest annual rate in July (39.7%, compared with 42.0% in June), followed by food, alcohol & tobacco (9.8%, compared with 8.9% in June), non-energy industrial goods (4.5%, compared with 4.3% in June) and services (3.7%, compared with 3.4% in June),” an accompanying report compiled by Eurostat read. The data provided a curious contrast in ..

After failing to go live last month, the Cardano Vasil hard fork is delayed again as teams behind the Cardano blockchain development target a smooth network upgrade. Input Output Global (IOG), the organization responsible for Cardano’s research and development, released a YouTube update on Thursday on the upcoming Vasil hard fork. IOG technical manager Kevin Hammond announced that the Vasil hard fork will be postponed one more time to ensure that all parties, including exchanges and API developers, are “all ready for that.” Hammond said: “Obviously, from where we are, there could be a few more weeks before we go to the actual Vasil hard fork [...] This is incredibly important. All the users must be ready to progress through the hard fork to ensure a smooth process.”Hammond pointed out that IOG has been focused on solving some testnet issues, progressing with the Cardano node version 1.35.2. The new node version fixes issues related to stake pool operators, decentralized application (DA..

The governance discussion intensifies as decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) become more popular in the blockchain space. The dilemma between giving power to a specific few and the freedom to voluntarily delegate decision power was highlighted in a Twitter thread created by Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin. In a tweet, Buterin brought up an old adage pointing out that power-hungry individuals are not suitable to lead. The Ethereum founder highlighted that the saying can be applied to DAOs and argued that transferable governance tokens in DAOs contradict the whole point of DAOs. Buterin noted that if governance can be transferred, it enables those who are after power. While the Ethereum founder presents a valid point, some reacted with contrasting opinions. In a reply, Twitter user Muki pointed out that it’s inevitable to delegate decision power. According to the community member, expecting everyone to participate is impossible, and a voluntary delegation of decision power i..

Bitcoin (BTC) delivered a swift six-week high into July 29 as the aftermath of the latest macro developments boosted risk assets. BTC/USD 1-hour candle chart (Bitstamp). Source: TradingViewMonthly close could seal 20% gainsData from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView captured local highs of $24,445 for BTC/USD on Bitstamp, its best since the week beginning June 13. After consolidating around $23,000, bulls got a second wind to propel the market higher on the back of the United States Federal Reserve’s latest rake hikes and GDP data confirming that the U.S. was now in a recession. Risk assets outperformed across the board, with Bitcoin and altcoins joining gold in giving traders and analysts cause for positivity on the outlook. “This is getting interesting,” on-chain monitoring resource Material Indicators tweeted in an update on its short and long signal thread for the daily BTC/USD chart on June 28. It eyed the potential for Bitcoin to make a higher high (HH) next: “All Tren..

According to Senator Pat Tomey, famous for his vocal support for the crypto industry, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) could have prevented the loss of $12 billion in assets by investors who trusted Celsius, a crypto lending platform, that froze their deposits in June. An official letter from Toomey to SEC Chairman Gary Gensler, dated by July 26, suggested that the Commission’s inability to clarify how it would apply existing securities laws to digital assets and services drew undesirable repercussions. As Toomey writes: “Companies could have adjusted product offerings accordingly, preventing investor losses today, and the SEC would have been free to focus enforcement efforts on the worst actors.”According to Toomey, the SEC didn’t properly explain how the Howey and Reves tests applied to crypto lending platform products that paid interest to customers making crypto deposits. Instead, he emphasized, the SEC is choosing to regulate by selective enforcement. T..