Ethereum on PoW (ETHW) Users Might Be Vulnerable to New Type of Attack

After the activation of Ethereum's (ETH) Merge in mainnet, some ETH enthusiasts also decided to claim the tokens of alternative proof-of-work (PoW) chains. Here is why they should be very cautious while transaction the new assets.

The Merge update makes some Ethereum (ETH) supporters vulnerable to replay attacks

Team of Kyber Network, a veteran Ethereum-based DeFi protocol and multi-blockchain liqudity hub, shared a thread on replay attacks, a common post-fork vulnerability of crypto wallets.

1/ Be aware of Replay Attacks before using #EthereumPoW! Post @Ethereum #Merge, some users may become victims to Replay Attacks and lose their assets. What exactly is a Replay Attack, how does it happen and how can you avoid it? A thread 🧵 pic.twitter.com/L2q9PZ5sbz

— Kyber Network (@KyberNetwork) September 16, 2022

After the fork takes place, there is a significant risk for a transaction on one chain to be exploited on the other chain. For instance, a money transfer on PoS Ethereum (the "official" post-Merge blockchain) can be replicated on a PoW hard fork chain without being authorized by the user.

It should also be noted that replay attacks can target both fungible tokens (ERC-20) and non-fungible tokens (NFTs). That is why Kyber Network experts recommend using separate wallets for working with ETH and ETHW tokens.

Also, avoiding using Ethereum on PoW (ETHW) and minor PoW versions of Ethereum (ETH) might be a smart bet for the period of post-Merge euphoria at least.

Ethereum on PoW (ETHW) contributors respond: "No worries"

KyberSwap, a Kyber Network main protocol, allows users to swap ETHW tokens 30 days after the Merge activation.

Contributors to Ethereum on PoW (ETHW) disagreed with the report of Kyber Network (KNC) experts. They stressed that their network has built-in protection from such attacks:

ETHW has strong replay attack protection in place, so no worries here!

As covered by U.Today previously, Ethereum (ETH) network activated the Merge upgrade in mainnet on Sept. 15, 2022. Today, the ETHW tokens of its PoW hardfork were distributed among ETH holders.