Binance could list Ethereum forks

Binance’s announcement comes as some in the crypto community are pushing to preserve a Proof-of-Work version of Ethereum after “the Merger.”

Binance will support “the Merge” of Ethereum, but may also go so far as to list some Ethereum fork tokens.

On its blog Binance said it was closely following the merger and would support it when it launches. The exchange noted that the event could potentially lead to the creation of some Ethereum forkens, adding that it “Would evaluate support for the distribution and withdrawal of token forkens.“In other words, Binance hinted that it plans to support the Proof-of-Stake version of ETH when the update is completed, but it did not rule out listing other ETH-related token forkens.

Ethereum’s so-called “the Merge” update is widely regarded as one of the biggest crypto events in recent years. It will see the number one blockchain for smart contracts “merge” its current Proof-of-Work execution layer with a Proof-of-Stake consensus layer, moving the network to a new consensus mechanism that relies on validators rather than miners. The upgrade, currently in testing and scheduled for mid-September, is expected to reduce Ethereum’s power consumption by 99.9 percent and ETH issuance by about 90 percent, as the network will no longer need to pay miners to add new blocks to the chain.

Proof-of-Work fork support

While the Ethereum community has been largely supportive of the merge, there has been some reluctance about the impact it will have on miners. As a result, some names from the crypto community – including TRON founder Justin Sun and miner Chandler Gou – have backed a plan to fork the Ethereum blockchain in order to preserve a Proof-of-Work network. If a fork occurs, it will likely result in the creation of new ETH tokens, which is why Binance said it would evaluate any potential new coins.

Circle and Tether, the issuers of the stablecoins USDC and USDT, have announced that they will exclusively support Ethereum Proof-of-Stake after the merger. However, for exchanges whose business is to make assets relevant to trading available, the Ethereum Proof-of-Work plans present a potentially lucrative opportunity. Sun-backed Poloniex said it would take on two potential hardfork tokens earlier this week, but so far none of the major exchanges have committed to listing new tokens.