Why Buy Ethereum PoW (ETHW)
Ethereum PoW is a copy of Ethereum’s state before the Merge that took place in September 2022. Since that moment, the main blockchain has split into two independent “branches,” and the ETHW Hard Fork has replicated the original blockchain’s functionalities, including existing smart contracts, with one key difference: Ethereum PoW still relies on the Proof-of-Work (PoW) mechanism.
As such, this cryptocurrency might represent an interesting asset if you’re a decentralisation maximalist. ETHW was created to satisfy that segment of crypto investors who were disappointed by Ethereum’s transition to the Proof-of-Stake (PoS) mechanism—which, by its nature, involves greater centralisation of power.
What is Ethereum PoW and how was it created
When the original Ethereum network was launched, it ran on a consensus mechanism known as Proof-of-Work (PoW). However, this mechanism was deactivated in 2022 with the switch to Proof-of-Stake. This change was not welcomed by many miners, who then decided to launch an Ethereum Hard Fork, leading to the birth of ETHW.
The development of Ethereum PoW was led by Chandler Guo, a well-known Ethereum miner, who presented the idea on X (formerly Twitter) on July 27, 2022. Initially supported by Justin Sun, founder of TRON, the project garnered backing from other miners and established a roadmap: the ETHW mainnet would be created a few hours after the ETH Merge (which occurred on September 15, 2022) and would go live after the creation of 2048 “empty” blocks.
Additionally, to mirror wallet balances, the new project distributed ETHW tokens to ETH holders in a 1:1 airdrop.
ETHW Network Hashrate and Value
The initial computing power (hash rate) of ETHW was around 9% of the total ETH pre-Merge hashrate: many miners opted to shut down their hardware or repurpose it. Later, due to the low value of the Ethereum Proof-of-Work coin, more miners left the ETHW network, further reducing its total hashrate.
Today, ETHW has regained some ground compared to 2022–2023, and its hash rate fluctuates between 20 and 30 TH/s, with peaks of 32.7 reached around late December 2024. This is a notable improvement, considering that throughout 2023, the hash rate hovered between 9 and 11 TH/s.
However, the coin’s value remains quite low, although it recorded a +50% increase during April–May 2025.
So, if you believe that the PoW consensus mechanism is superior to PoS, and at the same time you appreciate Ethereum, then you’re left with just one question to answer:
Could buying Ethereum PoW be the right choice for you?
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