Forked Version of Ethereum Has Troubled Launch

Forked Version of Ethereum Has Troubled Launch

Just a couple of hours after completing the merge to proof of stake, ETHPoW- the network's mirrored version, made to preserve proof of work on a forked version of Ethereum went live.

This event was regaled as noteworthy for the crypto industry, as Ethereum moved on to a 99% more environmentally friendly proof of stake method, but not all went as planned.

Shortly after the ETHPoW mainnet debuted on Thursday, users began experiencing issues accessing the network. It quickly became apparent that part of the issue was that ETHPoW had chosen a chain ID already in use.

Chain IDs, created for the hard fork of Ethereum back in 2016, are a sort of DNA for a specific network to help blockchains confirm the unique address of on-chain assets. For example, the Bitcoin Cash testnet already used the chain ID given to the ETHPoW.

Chain IDs are picked randomly, with no central figure to designate them, but it is seemingly embarrassing that this wasn't caught before the merge.

Leading up to the merge chain, IDs were the main concern for some top members of the community. Fear spread as people spoke that, due to ETHPoW creation, users could be susceptible to replay attacks if the ETHPoW failed to change its chain ID properly.

Hackers could duplicate transactions on the ETHPoW network onto the entire ETH network if both chains were to have the same ID.

A prominent crypto miner leading the ETHPoW movement, Chandler Guo, stated before the merge that ETHPoW would be changing its ID for this reason. Why the project went on to get the same chain ID possessed by another major crypto network remains unclear.

Minutes after the merge launched, but before ETHPoW launch- the fork’s native cryptocurrency, ETHW, surged some 70% to $60.68, likely due to anticipation of the launch of the network.

When the networks eventually launched on the 15th, the price of ETHW slashed by 74%, trading at $15.33. Unfortunately, the coin has seen another 40% decrease to $9.27.

Some users on Twitter claim that the network was working just fine for them hours after launch. Still, others criticized the confusion leading up to the release, and just as many warned, it seems that some hackers were able to take advantage of the opportunity.