What is EthereumPoW (ETHW)?
EthereumPoW (ETHW) is a separate blockchain that continued the Proof of Work approach after Ethereum moved to Proof of Stake in September 2022. Because it starts from the state Ethereum held just before that switch, it acts as a continuation of the older mining chain.
Why ETHW split from Ethereum
The Merge handed block production from miners to validators who lock up funds. That change put mining operations at risk, especially those that had invested in GPU hardware. A group led by Chandler Guo viewed PoW as harder to censor and wanted miners to keep working, so they launched an alternative chain.
On EthereumPoW, miners still confirm transactions and assemble new blocks using the Ethash algorithm. The miner that adds a block earns ETHW, and network fees are paid with ETHW.
How the EthereumPoW chain operates
The network uses the same technical base as pre-Merge Ethereum. Security comes from Ethash, a Proof of Work algorithm that is suitable for GPU mining. Wallets must use chain ID 10001 when adding EthereumPoW manually.
Smart contract support is inherited from Ethereum, but major data providers such as Chainlink and stablecoin issuers for USDC and USDT have stated they support only the PoS chain. As a result, decentralized finance (DeFi) activity and liquidity on ETHW remain much smaller than on Ethereum.
ETHW supply and practical limits
ETHW has no fixed maximum supply. When the split happened, ETH holders received ETHW at a 1:1 ratio based on a snapshot. After that, new ETHW has been minted as rewards for miners.
The project is considered risky because it has not attracted the wider Ethereum ecosystem. Early on, the chain ID collided with a Bitcoin Cash testnet, which confused wallet users. There were also replay attack concerns, meaning the same transaction could be broadcast on both chains, requiring extra caution from users.