Grayscale Gives Up On Ethereum Proof-of-Work (ETHPoW), Signaling End Of An Era

Grayscale Investments officially relinquished its rights to the post-Merge Proof-of-Work Ethereum ETH/USD tokens, known as ETHPoW.

In a statement released on Sept. 18, Grayscale clarified that after comprehensive analysis it was evident ETHPoW tokens lacked substantial liquidity. Moreover, the custodian of the products was not in favor of these tokens.

“As such, it is not possible to exercise the rights to acquire and sell the ETHPoW tokens, and on behalf of the record date shareholders, Grayscale is abandoning the rights to these assets," the company stated.

This development is particularly noteworthy, especially with the upcoming Benzinga's Future of Digital Assets conference on Nov. 14, where such industry shifts are likely to be a topic of discussion.

Grayscale's move to forgo the rights of ETHPoW tokens followed the significant event known as the Ethereum Merge, which took place on Sept. 15, 2022.

This event signaled Ethereum's complete shift from Proof-of-Work (PoW) mechanism to a Proof-of-Stake (PoS) system, resulting in a split of the Ethereum blockchain into a primary PoS-based Ethereum and a secondary PoW-based Ethereum.

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Post the Merge, Grayscale contemplated the acquisition of ETHPoW and the potential sale of ETHW for its record date shareholders.

However, even 180 days after the Merge, the firm spent an additional half-year deliberating on the acquisition of these PoW tokens, according to Cointelegraph.

The hesitation stemmed from the unclear stance of digital asset custodians and trading platforms on supporting ETHW tokens.

Contrastingly, certain crypto investment companies such as ETC Group ventured into launching specific EthereumPoW exchange-traded products (ETPs).

ETC Group had to discontinue its PoW-centric ZETW ETP a mere six weeks post-launch due to the lack of suitable custody providers.

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