Bitrue, the leading cryptocurrency exchange based in Singapore, is providing its users with an Ethereum Proof of Work token in advance of the Merge upgrade, where Ethereum will become a Proof of Stake blockchain, Coin Journal learned from an exclusive press release. Users who hold ether can claim and trade the token for free.
Supporting two parallel versions of Ethereum?
A number of key stakeholders within the Ethereum ecosystem want to keep the existing PoW infrastructure after the transition and are preparing for a fork. There will be two parallel versions of the blockchain after it.
Bitrue will let users claim the token via a swap and IOU mechanism. Prior to the update, they will also offer a pre-release version of the PoS token. Bitrue Chief Marketing Officer Adam O’Neill commented:
Bitrue has always focused on giving users an unparalleled choice. This is evident in our actions to provide unique and innovative financial products and also in the thousands of trading pairs available on Bitrue right now. We were the first crypto exchange to provide IOU trading on the Flare FLR token in 2020, meeting the overwhelming demand from the XRP community. Now, we are delighted to be able to do something similar for the Ethereum community.
No exposure to risk
All users can receive a full entitlement of Proof of Stake Ethereum regardless of whether or not a fork occurs. This guarantees a lack of exposure to risk.
The exchange can augment the speculation options available to interested users by additionally offering the Proof of Work Ethereum as an IOU.
Ethereum’s Merge upgrade is expected to take place in the middle of September 2022, but the ultimate date depends on the Ethereum Foundation’s final plans.
Bitrue will recognize PoS Ethereum as the official ether coin. The exchange will continue to provide all related services without interruption.