The Merge Week: Tether (USDT) Backs Ethereum’s Proof-Of-Stake Upgrade

Summary:

• USDT issuer Tether supports Ethereum’s upcoming proof-of-stake transition.
• Tether stressed only ETH PoS would receive backing.
• Support for hard-forked proof-of-work Ethereum chains seems unlikely at press time.
• The top two stablecoins have declared full support for the Merge.
• Other protocols like Chainlink and exchanges like Coinbase have announced similar decisions.

Tether, the digital asset firm behind crypto’s largest stablecoin USDT, is all in on Ethereum’s landmark transition from a proof-of-work consensus mechanism to a proof-of-stake blockchain network.

USD₮ Supports ETH Proof-of-Stake Transition https://t.co/gMcEYl3aI0

The USDT issuer joins Circle and USD Coin (USDC) in support of the Merge. At press time, Tether USDT and Circle USDC are the two biggest stablecoins in crypto with a combined market cap of over $100 billion.

Both stablecoin issuers stressed that their tokens “can only exist as a single valid version” on the Ethereum blockchain. With this in mind, it seems unlikely that either digital asset firm would offer support for hard-forked coins should they emerge.

As the biggest stablecoin in the market trading at 10 times the volume of our closest competitor, and the most used stablecoin on the Ethereum blockchain with 3 times more people holding tethers in their wallet than any other stablecoin, we know it is our responsibility to reassure the community of our support for its development.

Community Split Over Ethereum’s PoS

Indeed, the transition known within the crypto ecosystem as the “Merge” has so far received mixed support from protocols and stakeholders alike. The primary reason for this supposedly split in community consensus was triggered by a plan to hard fork Ethereum’s proof-of-work chain during the PoS transition.

Major Chinese Ether miner Chandler Guo championed the proposal. Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin said Ethereum’s PoS faces no threat from hard forks. Buterin also opined that PoW proponents have a better product in Ethereum Classic.

Justin Sun said a successful ETH PoW hard-fork would receive 1 million ETH from the Tron founder.

A Few Days To The Merge

As of Monday, September 12, 2022, all eyes are on the Merge as Ethereum moves into the final stages of its PoS upgrade. The first upgrade dubbed Bellatrix was successfully deployed on September 6. 

Per comments from Buterin, the final update called Paris is expected to ship sometime this week. A successful Paris deployment would signify a watershed moment for Ethereum and usher in a new era powered by proof-of-stake.

Leading up to the PoS upgrade, ETH trades above $1700. Bitmex CEO Arthur Hayes shared bullish sentiment and believes Ether could hit $3000 before 2022 runs out.

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