William Shatner, the famous Canadian artist who played the role of Admiral James T. Kirk in the legendary Star Trek saga, expressed support for Ethereum and congratulated the blockchain's founder, Vitalik Buterin, on the event. In particular, in his address, Shatner emphasized the environmental benefits of abandoning the proof-of-work consensus and switching to proof of stake.
So Ethereum went green the other night. Congratulations @VitalikButerin & team.🌱👍🏻
— William Shatner (@WilliamShatner) September 18, 2022
As noted by many studies and, in particular, by analysts of the World Economic Forum, the energy consumption of Ethereum mining should decrease by 99.5% as a result of the update. Moreover, the rejection of PoW should theoretically improve the position of ETH in the view of institutional investors who have restrictions on transactions with PoW cryptocurrencies.
Ethereum's new headaches
Nevertheless, despite the rather positive consequences of the transition, Vitalik's project acquired new problems at the same time.
For example, in the first days after Sept. 15, it became known that more than 40% of the PoS nodes in the Ethereum network are controlled by only two addresses, which led many to question the current decentralization of the blockchain.
The other trouble came from where you would expect it, given the current mood in the crypto space. It is about SEC Chairman Gary Gensler's statement hinting that ETH, now operating on PoS, can be treated as a security. Without mentioning Ethereum in vain, the official, in his reasoning about the PoS consensus, said that generating revenue by staking cryptocurrencies fits the Howey test for determining whether an instrument is a security.
Arman Shirinyan
Alex Dovbnya
Vladislav Sopov
Dan Burgin