ETC Group launches crypto ETP based on PoW Ethereum hard fork

ETC Group officially announced on Wednesday the launch of a new Ethereum ETP in response to the upcoming Ethereum merger. The Ethereum Merge, scheduled to take place in mid-September, is a long-awaited consensus upgrade that is set to move the Ethereum blockchain from mining-based PoW to mining-free proof-of-stake (PoS).

ETC Group’s new Ethereum ETP will rely on a split PoW Ethereum chain, representing a group of miners who oppose Ethereum’s switch to PoS. The PoW chain will have a new token called ETHW, which will provide the basis for ETC Group’s new physically backed ETP called ETC Group Physical EthereumPoW, or ETHWetc.

According to the announcement, ETHWetc is expected to list on Deutsche Boerse’s electronic trading platform, Xetra, under the ticker symbol ZETW. ETC Group noted that the firm expects the IPO to happen shortly after the September 16 fork event.

The company emphasized that the new ZETW will not replace the original ETC Group Physical Ethereum (ZETH). Current ZETH holders will automatically receive the new token (ZETW) as an addition on a 1:1 unit basis on brokerage accounts. ETC Group representatives reached out to Cointelegraph to clarify that “ZETH will continue exactly as before and automatically switch to ETH PoS in line with The Merge.”

Bradley Duke, founder and co-CEO of ETC Group, pointed out that taking advantage of hard forks to the underlying cryptocurrencies is the original vision and commitment of the firm. “In line with this […] all holders of our Ethereum-based ETP will receive, at no cost, matching units of the new Ethereum PoW ETP soon after the Ethereum hard fork occurs,” he noted, adding:

“We believe it is only right that investors in our products should receive the proceeds of this fork.”

The news comes amid the crypto industry actively preparing for the upcoming Ethereum merger, with various companies seeking new mining options or launching Ethereum ventures.

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On Wednesday, Swiss-regulated crypto platform SEBA Bank enabled Ether (ETH) staking services for institutional investors. The institutional grade offers customers to generate rewards based on their Ether holdings on a monthly basis, the bank said in a statement. Canadian crypto miner Hive Blockchain also announced on Tuesday that it has been working on replacing the mining of ETH with other mineable coins in the event of Ethereum’s transition to PoS.