BitMEX to launch derivatives tied to a possible Ethereum PoW fork

The BitMEX cryptocurrency derivatives exchange will offer a futures product based on ETHPoW tokens tied to a potential fork of the Ethereum blockchain after the mainnet’s transition to the Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus algorithm.

🚨This just in 🚨

A brand new ETHPOW futures contract is dropping on BitMEX tomorrow:$ETHPOW $USDT

Contract deets👇https://t.co/CuahDsXqTX pic.twitter.com/d1PAdYuqyh

— BitMEX (@BitMEX) August 8, 2022

The futures contract with ticker ETHPOWZ22 is settled in Tether (USDT) and provides users with 2x leverage.

“This is a highly speculative contract (ETHPoW does not yet exist and may never come to be),” the statement said.

The product is already available on the test network.

The idea of a fork with an Ethereum branch continuing to operate on the Proof-of-Work (PoW) algorithm was floated in July by influential Chinese miner Chandler Guo. The ETHPoW asset that emerged would allow miners of the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization to continue operating after the mainnet’s merge with the Beacon Chain, scheduled for September.

ethpow will coming soon pic.twitter.com/v9eAbWO2BZ

— Chandler Guo (@ChandlerGuo) July 27, 2022

The Poloniex exchange also announced support for the proposed Ethereum PoW fork, and on August 8 listed ETHPoS (ETHS) and ETHPoW (ETHW). MEXC Global followed suit.

MEXC will support the #Ethereum upgrade and its potential hard fork.

All MEXC $ETH holders will receive the forked assets at a 1:1 ratio when the upgrade is completed.

Details: https://t.co/nY06CPNB2O pic.twitter.com/HeFyIPuO3v

— MEXC Global (@MEXC_Global) August 5, 2022

Both assets exist in the form of IOU, issued 1:1 against the underlying cryptocurrency ETH. According to CoinMarketCap, at the time of writing ETHPoS trades around $1648 when Ethereum price is near $1783. Quotes ETHPoW are around $135.

Huobi said it would take steps to support the potential fork after “gathering a general picture of users’ opinions” and if the assets meet listing rules.

🔥#Huobi has seen recent discussions on the potential #Ethereum hard forks.

We hold an objective & neutral attitude towards the principle of ensuring security of your assets, and will take a first move to support the hard fork after we get an overall picture of users’ opinions. pic.twitter.com/yirsYxMASE

— Huobi (@HuobiGlobal) August 5, 2022

DigiFinex and OKX exchanges have also begun assessing the implications of a possible Ethereum fork.

Gate.io on August 9 will begin trading ETHS and ETHW.

https://t.co/8kWqgEeplL Will Support #ETH Potential Hard Fork and List #ETHS and «Candy» Token #ETHW

▶️Trading Starts: 12:00 AM, Aug 9th, 2022 (UTC+8)
▶️Trading Pairs:
ETHS/USDT, ETHS/ETH
ETHW/USDT, ETHW/ETH

More details: https://t.co/EL1LIdzkeo pic.twitter.com/RkGHpXaxMT

— Gate.io (@gate_io) August 7, 2022

Chainlink developers said the protocol will not support the Ethereum PoW fork.

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