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Ethereum pow price prediction: What is ethereum pow (ETHW)?

By Peter Henn

Edited by Charlie Mellor


Updated

Representation of the Ethereum pyramid log with a ‘W’ overlaid on it
ETHW was created by miners, but what happens next? – Photo: Shutterstock

It’s one of the more potentially interesting new cryptocurrencies, but what is ethereum pow (ETHW)?

Let’s take a look and see what we can find out about this coin, and also examine some of the few ethereum pow price predictions that were being made as of 1 December 2022, too. 

What is Ethereum PoW?

Ethereum is one of the biggest blockchains out there, and its native ether (ETH) coin is the second-largest cryptocurrency, behind only bitcoin (BTC). The Ethereum platform is a key player in the world of decentralised finance (DeFi), giving people the opportunity to create their own programs, called decentralised applications (DApps) that have their own native tokens.

Founded in 2013 by Vitalik Buterin, Ethereum pioneered the use of smart contracts, computer programs that automatically execute once certain conditions are met. These not only helped the platforms it supported, but have also been utilised by a great deal of other blockchains. This is in contrast with the Bitcoin blockchain that, pretty much, mainly exists to support the bitcoin crypto. 

Until very recently, Ethereum operated with a proof-of-work (PoW) consensus mechanism. This meant that, rather like Bitcoin, it relied on people called miners to solve an increasingly-complex series of mathematical equations in order to add blocks to the blockchain and, in return, earn rewards. 

There were two problems with Ethereum’s PoW consensus mechanism. First, the system used an awful lot of computing power. Not only was this expensive, but it meant ETH was not terribly environmentally friendly. If we suppose that one of the things crypto in general wants to do is appeal to a fresh generation, then its environmental impact might well serve as a stumbling block.

Second, the way it worked meant that transactions were often a lot slower than they could be. Bitcoin has been able to avoid this problem by specifically doing just the one thing. However, with Ethereum having many functions, this often meant that transactions on the blockchain were slower, which meant that people had to pay higher transaction costs, called gas fees

ETH to USD

https://capital.com/staking-definitionThe solution was to move to something called proof-of-stake (PoS). This had involved people being selected to add to the blockchain on the basis of how much of the chain’s native token – in this case, ETH – they hold.

This requires far less electrical power, which, at least in theory, means it should be more environmentally friendly and, among other things, attract more potential investors. It also means that it should be quicker, which should, again in theory, bring the gas fees down, as well as allowing Ethereum staking to involve the native token.

In December 2020, Ethereum announced it was going to transfer to a PoS consensus mechanism. After a number of delays, the transfer, dubbed The Merge, happened on 15 September 2022. 

While The Merge was eagerly anticipated, there was a downside for the blockchain’s miners. Since they were no longer needed, they were no longer able to receive a supplemental income.

As a result, plans were made to set up a version of ETH based on the original, pre-Merge, blockchain. Perhaps the highest-profile PoW versions of Ethereum comes in the form of Ethereum Proof-of-Work, also known as Ethereum PoW or ETHPoW.

This blockchain, established by a group of anonymous miners, was set up in order to allow people to continue to profit from adding blocks to the blockchain in a traditional way while utilising the same features as the original Ethereum. The new ethereum fork’s mainnet – or ETHPoW fork, if you prefer – came online in the wake of The Merge on 15 September 2022.

Every blockchain needs its own native coin, and Ethereum PoW has one called ETHW. This token is used to pay miners and can be bought, sold and traded on crypto exchanges. 

It is worth noting that the ETHW whitepaper was, at the time of writing on 1 December 2022, basically a blank document. This means that there were no technical details that potential investors could examine to help inform them on whether or not to buy ETHW. We will have to wait and see if there are any updates. 

ETHW price history

ETHW price historyETHW price history from launch to present – Credit: CoinMarketCap

Now, let’s take a look at the ETHW price history, such as it is. While past performance should never be taken as an indicator of future results, knowing what the coin has done in the short time it has been on the market can give some much-needed context when it comes to either interpreting an already existing ethereum pow price prediction or else making one of our own. 

XRP/USD

0.72 Price
+16.920% 1D Chg, %
Long position overnight fee -0.0616%
Short position overnight fee 0.0137%
Overnight fee time 22:00 (UTC)
Spread 0.01168

DOGE/USD

0.39 Price
+18.150% 1D Chg, %
Long position overnight fee -0.0616%
Short position overnight fee 0.0137%
Overnight fee time 22:00 (UTC)
Spread 0.0012872

SOL/USD

215.66 Price
-2.220% 1D Chg, %
Long position overnight fee -0.0616%
Short position overnight fee 0.0137%
Overnight fee time 22:00 (UTC)
Spread 2.2652

BTC/USD

88,550.10 Price
+0.500% 1D Chg, %
Long position overnight fee -0.0616%
Short position overnight fee 0.0137%
Overnight fee time 22:00 (UTC)
Spread 106.00

It is worth pointing out that, while ETHW was officially launched on 15 September 2022 – when its mainnet went live – there is a price history dating back to a little over a month before then.

On 8 August 2022, it was trading, according to CoinMarketCap, at its all-time high of $141.36, but it fell to below $100 the following day when it closed at $83.44. These semi-official prices fell down over the course of the next few weeks, and by the end of the month it was valued at $49.58.

As The Merge approached, the ETHW price grew to a daily peak of $63.29 on 3 September, but then it fell back down to a low of $27.03 on 9 September. The figures looked particularly bad on the day of The Merge, when it dropped from a high of $60.68 to a post-mainnet low of $9.34.

There was some growth once the coin had, for want of a better phrase, become official, and on 16 September it reached a post-Merge high of $14.42. Following that, though, there was a downturn as it suffered a so-called replay message attack that saw it sink to a post-Merge low of $4.22 on 19 September.

There followed some significant recovery and, on 24 September, the coin traded at a high of $13.78. It stayed above the $10 mark for the next week or so, but fell down again and reached a low of $6.59 on 13 October before recovering to $7.66 the next day. It then fell back to spend much of the next four weeks hovering between $6 and $8 – and traded at a high of $6.75 on 5 November. 

The collapse of the FTX (FTT) exchange into bankruptcy was bad for the market and bad for ETHW, too, as the coin fell to an all-time low of $3.13 on 22 November.

In the week or so after that, there was a halting attempt at recovery and, on 1 December 2022, it was trading at $3.60. At that point, there were 107,382,337.05 in circulation. This gave the coin a market cap of around $387.5m, making it the 79th largest crypto by that metric. 

Ethereum pow price prediction round-up

With that all said and done, let’s take a look at what few ethereum pow price predictions that were being made as of 1 Deccember 2022. It is important to point out that price forecasts, especially for something as potentially volatile as a cryptocurrency, very often turn out to be wrong.

This is especially true when it comes to a newer crypto, which will also explain why there are not that many ethereum pow coin price predictions out there. Also, we should remind you that long-term crypto price predictions are often made using an algorithm, which means that they can change at a moment’s notice. 

First, CoinCodex had a short-term ethereum pow coin price prediction that suggested ETHW could drop slightly to $3.57 by 6 December before plummeting to less than $1.29 on 31 December. The site’s technical analysis rated it as neutral, even though there were (at the time of writing) 15 indicators sending out bullish signals – more than double the seven making bearish ones. 

Meanwhile, CoinArbitrageBot was very optimistic at the time of writing when it came to making its ETHW price prediction. The site suggested that in 2023 the coin could trade at $11.82 before it moved to a little below $21.05 in 2024. The site went with an ethereum pow price prediction for 2025 that estimated it could rise to $34.05 before it reached $55.09 in 2026.. How seriously you take this forecast will all depend on whether, after having done your own research, you think the new crypto can grow by more than 200% over the next 12 months or so and by more than 1,400% in a little over four years. 

Next, DigitalCoinPrice had an ethereum pow crypto price prediction that said it could reach $4.40 this year, $8.88 next year and $12.05 the year after that. By 2025, the site said ETHW could be worth $15.87, before it moved to $19.56 in 2027 and $26.38 in 2028. The site suggested the coin could close the decade at $36.62, after which it offered an ethereum pow price prediction for 2030 that predicted it could trade at $51.52 that year and go on to $69.32 in 2031. 

Finally, WalletInvestor made an ethereum pow price prediction for 2023 that suggested the coin was in for a very difficult 12 months. It suggested it could fall to a mere $0.277 by the start of December next year. 

When considering an ETHW price prediction, it’s important to keep in mind that cryptocurrency markets remain extremely volatile, making it difficult to accurately predict what a coin or token’s price will be in a few hours, and even harder to give long-term estimates. As such, analysts and algorithm-based forecasters can and do get their predictions wrong.

If you are considering investing in cryptocurrency tokens, we recommend that you always do your own research. Look at the latest market trends, news, technical and fundamental analysis, and expert opinion before making any investment decision. Keep in mind that past performance is no guarantee of future returns. And never trade with money that you cannot afford to lose.

FAQs

Does Ethereum still use proof-of-work?

As of The Merge taking place on 15 September 2022, the Ethereum blockchain no longer uses the Ethereum proof-of-work consensus mechanism. 

Is Ethereum moving to proof-of-stake?

Ethereum moved to a proof-of-stake consensus mechanism after The Merge took place on 15 September 2022. 

How will proof-of-stake effect the Ethereum price?

It is hard to say. A great many factors could have an impact on the price of ETH, just one of which is how well both the system and investors take to PoS.

As always with cryptocurrency, you will need to do your own research, remember that prices can go down as well as up, and never invest more money than you can afford to lose. 

Markets in this article

ETH/USD
Ethereum / USD
3283.96 USD
-46.57 -1.400%
BTC/USD
Bitcoin / USD
88550.10 USD
444.1 +0.500%

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