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The Ethereum Merge is slated to happen on September 15, and it will see the Ethereum network transition from a proof-of-work to a proof-of-stake network. As the Ethereum community anticipates this Merge, the world’s leading Ethereum mining pool, Ethermine, has launched a new staking pool for users.
World’s largest Ethereum mining pool unveils ETH staking service
The new Ether staking service will allow Ethermine members to collectively stake their Ether tokens to earn interest on their deposits. Users can stake a minimum of 0.01 ETH, equivalent to around $159. However, the smaller the holding of ETH staked, the higher the fee charged. Stakers will also be eligible for an annual ETH interest rate of 4.43%.
The Ethermine pool has so far received 393 Ether, valued at around $626,000 at the current prices. These staking pools hold significance because they provide competitive interest rates and have a lower barrier to entry compared to the 32 ETH required to operate an individual node.
Your capital is at risk.
Ethereum Merge to halt ETH mining
The launch of this Ether staking service is part of the effort made by Ethermine to pivot from mere ethereum mining. After the Merge, Ether mining will be halted because the network will shift to a PoS staking model.
There are currently 222,657 active miners on Ethermine, accounting for a total hash rate of 261.1 terra hashes per second. After the Merge, Ethermine will halt Ether mining, but it will still support the PoW mining of other cryptocurrencies such as Ethereum Classic, Beam, Ergo, and Ravencoin.
The miner dashboard will display the Merge countdown while minerscan will ensure ETH mining increases until the timer runs out. Ethereum miners will be replaced by PoS network validators which will reduce the energy demand of the Ethereum network by 99%.
However, some members of the Ethereum miner community have defied the Merge and have shown commitment to continuing supporting the PoW consensus. Some crypto community members have also argued that these changes will negatively affect the Ethereum ecosystem.
Ethereum is currently running on a PoW ecosystem that is energy-intensive. Under PoW, miners use a lot of computer power to solve complex issues, validate transactions and earn rewards in ETH tokens.
Once Ethereum shifts to a PoS consensus, the validators and participants will lock up selected amounts of cryptocurrencies within a smart contract on the network. The stake will boost security and support the decentralization of the network.
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