AntPool Injects $10M to Support Ethereum Classic Ecosystem
Coinspeaker
AntPool Injects $10M to Support Ethereum Classic Ecosystem
AntPool, the digital currency mining pool associated with BitMain, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of mining rigs, has injected the sum of $10 million to support the Ethereum Classic (ETC) ecosystem. As reported by Coindesk, the commitment was unveiled at Bitmain’s World Digital Mining Summit on Tuesday with the startup pledging more support in the future.
Blockchain protocols like Ethereum Classic which makes use of the Proof-of-Work (PoW) consensus model are the reason why Bitmain and AntPool are still in operation today. The PoW model is known to consume a lot of electricity and has faced a lot of backlash from the international community as to how it is not suitable for the environment.
The energy-related concerns of the PoW model account for one of the reasons why the Ethereum (ETH) blockchain network has been working to transition to Proof-of-Stake (PoS). This transition is dubbed The Merge and it has been scheduled to take place on September 19.
Should the new Ethereum emerge, validating transactions will no longer involve solving complicated mathematical challenges to add new transactions to the block. Validating transactions will now be transferred to validators who stake a pre-defined number ETH. Despite being a hardfork of Ethereum, Ethereum Classic will continue to operate the PoW model, a move that AntPool is now backing.
As a part of its latest tech upgrade, Bitmain commenced the sales of its latest Ethereum mining rigs, the Antminer E9 earlier this month. As a part of the support it plans to give the Ethereum Classic ecosystem, Bitmain said it will also be accepting payment for its mining rigs in Ethereum Classic (ETC) coin, particularly for its Antiminer models.
The injected capital is aimed for use in the development and exploration of applications of the Ethereum Classic mainnet, as to promote the overall performance of the network.
AntPool Backing Ethereum Classic Ecosystem
One of the least known facts about the Ethereum Classic ecosystem is that it is brandished as a smart contract network, with the ability to host and support decentralized applications (DApps). While it had the goal of helping to preserve the integrity of the Ethereum protocol at the beginning, it has continued to metamorphose into a more functional protocol today.
Ethereum Classic has done a lot to distinguish itself from the Ethereum blockchain over time, and its core role has continued to diverge from those of Ethereum over the past few years.
With AntPool and Bitmain backing the Ethereum Classic protocol, the blockchain network is bound to see more liquidity flows, and stability beyond what it is used to.