Bitmain released firmware for ETC mining on ASIC-miner E9. On September 2, cryptocurrency mining equipment manufacturer Bitmain added new firmware for the Antminer E9, released in July. This version will allow mining Ethereum Classic (ETC). The firmware comes ahead of Ethereum’s transition from Proof-of-Work (PoW) consensus algorithm to Proof-of-Stake (PoS), which will change the way coins are earned on the network from mining to stacking. The firmware only supports Antpool, Poolin and F2pool for now, versions for other mining pools are under development and will appear on the network soon.
The ASIC miner was announced more than a year ago, when Ethereum mining revenues set a record of $2.4 billion per month.
The miner provides a hash rate of 2400 MH/s, which is equivalent to 25 RTX 3080 graphics cards.
The power consumption of the device is 1,920 W with an energy efficiency of 0.8 J/M.
After the consensus algorithm change, it is possible to split into two networks, one of which will continue to work on PoW. In August, developers published a document refuting misconceptions about the upcoming update.
The developers also added an update roadmap. The transition can take place as early as September 10. It will take place in two stages: the first update, called Bellatrix, will be released on September 6 at 14:34:47 Moscow time, in case of its successful integration the second update will be launched – Paris.
On September 3, Bitmain-affiliated AntPool stopped supporting ETH. The project team noted that the network’s transition from PoW to PoS carries the risk of censorship in various countries. For the sake of customer asset security, the pool will not support Ethereum on PoS. Earlier, AntPool invested $10 million in the Ethereum Classic ecosystem. Representatives of the service said that they will continue to invest in this direction. The first investments will be directed to the development and research of applications in the network to improve its performance.