02 Aug Before the ‘Bomb’ Hits: Why the Race Is on to Alter Ethereum’s Economics
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The proposals just keep piling in.
At press time, a total of six ethereum improvement proposals (EIPs) have emerged, each hoping to alter the project’s code ahead of an upcoming software update (scheduled for October).
Driving the debate is ethereum’s so-called “difficulty bomb,” a piece of code locked into the $45 billion platform that makes it so a steadily increasing amount of computing power is needed to mine its blocks and unlock its rewards. As designed, the code would eventually push the blockchain into an “ice age,” where no further blocks can be formed – that is, if left untouched.
Originally added to ease a transition in which ethereum would change how participants on its blockchain come to agreement – migrating from bitcoin’s pioneering proof-of-work algorithm to an alternative called proof-of-stake – the difficulty bomb is set to reactivate in early 2019.
With no proof-of-stake migration in sight, steps must now be taken to delay the bomb — as well as…
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