The digital asset securities firm, the ETC Group, has announced that it is working on listing an exchange-traded product (ETP) that is based on the upcoming hard fork of the Ethereum network.
ETC Group is Ready for an Ethereum Hard Fork
As the countdown for the Ethereum hard fork upgrade continues, the digital asset securities provider plans to list a new ETP in anticipation of the hard fork. However, the company stated that the move would likely occur after the Merge.
The securities provider revealed that it intends to list the ETP on the German-based exchange, Xetra, on September 16. This is just a day after the hard fork of the Ethereum blockchain.
Moreover, in its statement, the firm revealed that existing holders of the company’s Ethereum ETP (ZETH) are eligible to receive units of the new product. This would be on a one-to-one basis and come with zero charges.
The statement further explained that the firm would add the new units to the user’s ZETH balance. The anticipated transition of the Ethereum network from the proof of work (PoW) to the proof of stake (PoS) consensus algorithm continues to elicit diverse opinions.
According to ETC Group’s co-founder, Bradley Duke, the company aims to provide hard fork benefits to all holders of its Ethereum’s ETP. Holders will receive, at no cost, the same amount of the new Ethereum PoW ETP after the Merge.
It is worth noting that the Ethereum development team has set September 15 as the date for the final Merge.
The Merge and the Problems
Behind the excitement of Ethereum’s network transition to a more efficient protocol, some issues appear to have been shielded from the public glare.
Admittedly, the Ethereum community’s excitement seems to have pushed the problems under the rug as analysts attempt to shed some light on what lies ahead.
The move is far from being supported by the entire community. Ethereum miners are at the receiving end of the transition. All things being equal, the miners would cease being the validators for the Ethereum blockchain. The affected miners are not deciding to do away with their services on the Ethereum team’s behalf lightly.
A growing number of them have supported the development of a forked version of ETH, called ETHW. This version will be based on the old PoW protocol.
It is not just the group of miners who have supported the creation of a PoW ETH; even several exchanges have given their backing.
The likes of BitMEX, Huobi, Bitrue, and Poloniex have all revealed their support for the ETHW. However, the world’s largest crypto exchange, Binance, is reportedly undecided.
Ethereum Classic (ETC) development is triggered by Vitalik Buterin’s decision to roll back all transactions following the unfortunate hack of the DAO ecosystem.
The ETC was the Ethereum network’s original blockchain before the event. However, its token has a smaller market capitalization than ETH.
Meanwhile, the incidents show what the upcoming Merge might face due to some expectations.
