News hardware Good news ! Ethereum miners will soon no longer need graphics cards
The second largest cryptocurrency behind Bitcoin is a delight for graphics card vendors. Indeed, for several years, Ethereum has established itself as the first choice for crypto miners. Thus, this strong demand has partly contributed to the shortage of stocks of 3rd generation Rtx graphics cards. However, these popular components for miners will soon no longer be needed to mine Ethereum.
The merge the event that will revolutionize Ethereum is coming soon
For several months, Ethereum users have been impatient (or not) with the idea of The Merge update. The second largest cryptocurrency, at the genesis of the phenomenon of non-fungible tokens (NFT) among others, has finally announced the timetable for the launch of the long-awaited update.
According to Ethereum estimates, The merge should arrive in mid-September…
Behind this technical name hides a concept that will profoundly change the use of this cryptocurrency and impact graphics card consumers. This innovation will move the Ethereum blockchain from proof-of-work (POW) to proof-of-stake (POS)…
Ethereum: What is proof-of-work?
Since its launch in 2015, Ethereum has operated more or less like Bitcoin for exchange validation. Blockchain, the network architecture behind cryptocurrency, aims to digitize trust. To exercise this principle, it uses a validation system to allow exchanges from individual to individual, without going through an intermediary. For the moment, the validation of transactions on Ethereum is done by proof of work (proof-of-work). It is precisely this system that uses graphics cards.
Concretely, to secure and operate its network, Ethereum puts several miners in competition with each other and their computing forces represented by machines (graphics cards, ASICs, etc.). This process aims to validate the blocks and thus reward miners with ETH. For this reason, cryptocurrency uses an abundant amount of electricity. In addition, the blockchain adapts to miners and they need ever more powerful hardware, creating a significant amount of electronic waste since the appearance of cryptocurrencies. For these reasons, cryptocurrencies are often singled out for their polluting aspect.
However Ethereum has the solution to drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions from its blockchain: proof-of-stake.
What is proof-of-stake?
Proof-of-stake represents a more eco-responsible alternative to proof-of-work. This system replaces the mechanism based on calculation strength with another, based on the active use of its treasury. Therefore, the proof of stake allows the holders of the asset in question (in this case Ethereum) to use their capital, instead of a graphics card, in the validation of the blocks. Precisely, by using this system, an individual will be able to mine Ethereum by putting their ETH into play.
This good news for gamers is also good news for the ecosystem since the consensus by proof of stake (PoS) is considered, rightly, as more respectful of the environment. Nevertheless, it could be that Ethereum miners switch to another proof-of-work cryptocurrency like Ethereum classic, to be profitable at the end of the month.