Ethereum sets a date for the end of GPU mining

ethereum is undergoing a lengthy process to abandon GPU mining and switch from a Proof-of-Work (PoW) model to a Proof-of-Stake (PoS) model. One of the main intentions with the change of model is to use less energy, something that possibly begins to be urgent seeing that its mining begins to be unprofitable in important areas of the world.

If we say that the transition process is taking a long time, it is because it is taking longer than initially expected, but it seems that there is finally a final date for The Fusion: September 19, 2022. At the moment Ethereum uses the Proof of Work model, which requires computing power. This is where we come to some GPUs that have become very popular for mining cryptocurrency, and that is, the more graphics cards with a high hash rate one has in their possession, the more of the cryptocurrency they can end up obtaining. This is basically the dynamic that has made high-end graphics cards luxury items for years, to the point that most gamers and common users have had to settle for the lower-middle range.

The fever for cryptocurrencies has reached such an extreme that it has become an environmental concern, and the invasion of Ukraine by Russia will probably end up accelerating this transition given the high prices that energy is reaching. After The Merger, if it happens at all, Ethereum nodes will “mint” coins at a set rate based on how many coins a node has and how long it has held them.. This will be the new criteria to determine who adds a new block instead of using computing power.

The proof of stake model will put or at least should put an end to dedicated graphics racks for Ethereum mining, thus significantly reducing power consumption. Of course, to carry out the transition, the node operators have to update their operations to support the new model.

Ethereum is the second most popular cryptocurrency, only surpassed by Bitcoin whose value has not stopped falling in recent months, and while the war between Ukraine and Russia continues and NATO and the European Union maintain their policies around the conflict, we will see that the price of energy will remain high, with more options to continue rising than to fall. Ethereum is not free from this dynamic either, having dropped its value by 60% since the beginning of this yeara situation that may have been influenced by your loss of profitability.

The negative spiral that cryptocurrencies are going through should make it possible for people with money in their pocket to acquire a dedicated graphic at a reasonable price. It is true that the high range has never or rarely been the most popular among ordinary users and most gamers, but at least they will be able to climb a step to get a graphic corresponding to what the GTX 1060 and RX 480 were. /580 at the time.

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