EthereumPoW: What It Is, Why It Split from Ethereum, and What Happened After

When EthereumPoW, a blockchain that continued proof-of-work mining after Ethereum’s 2022 merge. Also known as Ethereum Classic (ETC)’s rival, it was created by miners who refused to accept Ethereum’s shift to proof-of-stake. Unlike Ethereum, which now uses far less energy and relies on stakers, EthereumPoW kept the old rules: miners solve puzzles, earn rewards, and secure the chain with hardware. It wasn’t just a technical choice—it was a rebellion. People who believed mining was core to decentralization saw the merge as a betrayal. They didn’t want to hand control to wealthy stakers. So they forked the chain, kept the old code, and called it EthereumPoW.

What happened next? The network got a rush of miners from Ethereum, but not all of them stayed. Many left once the rewards dropped and the price didn’t hold. Ethereum Classic, a separate, older proof-of-work chain that never merged became a quieter alternative, while EthereumPoW struggled to find real use beyond speculative trading. Unlike Ethereum, which now powers DeFi, NFTs, and enterprise apps, EthereumPoW has almost no dApps, no major wallets, and no big projects building on it. It’s mostly just a chain with miners and a few traders betting it might rise again.

Some still mine it—mostly in places like Iran and Kazakhstan, where electricity is cheap and regulations are loose. But the hash rate has dropped by over 70% since its peak. The coin trades for pennies, and most exchanges treat it as a low-priority asset. Even the developers behind it admit it’s not meant to compete with Ethereum. It’s a legacy chain, a museum piece of the old crypto world. Still, if you’re curious about what happens when a blockchain splits, or how miners fight change, EthereumPoW is the clearest example we’ve seen. Below, you’ll find real stories from people who mined it, exchanges that listed it, and why most users walked away. No hype. Just what’s left.