After a decade of coins being dominated by the POW consensus protocol, only bitcoin and DOGE appear set to remain in the top ten.

 Over the past decade, the cryptocurrency landscape has seen significant shifts, from the dominance of Proof-of-Work to the rise of stablecoins and the impending transition of Ethereum to Proof-of-Stake. Explore the journey and implications of these changes.

After a decade of coins being dominated by the POW consensus protocol, only bitcoin and DOGE appear set to remain in the top ten. The second largest cryptocurrency by market cap is set to become eco-friendly but faces the risk of becoming illiquid.

The crypto community is eagerly awaiting the much-anticipated upgrade of the Ethereum network from proof-of-work (PoW) to proof-of-stake (PoS), known as the "merge," which is expected to happen in 25 days. Following Ethereum's transition from PoW to PoS, only two cryptocurrencies in the top ten market capitalisation rankings will be PoW coins. This is in stark contrast to nine years ago, when the top ten consisted primarily of PoW coins.

This year marks a significant milestone for the cryptocurrency industry, with three stablecoins making it into the top ten by market capitalisation for the first time ever. In early May, the Terra UST stablecoin was ranked in the top ten alongside USDT and USDC. However, following an attack on UST, the coin dropped out of the top ten rankings. In its place, the Binance-issued BUSD stablecoin became one of the top coins by capitalization, and as of today, three stablecoins remain in the top ten.

It is worth noting that just nine years ago, on August 20, 2013, stablecoins were not even considered and none ranked in the top ten.

On 20 August 2013, BTC was valued at $113 per unit, and Ethereum was non-existent. The Ethereum blockchain was launched 709 days after 20 August 2013. At that time, litecoin (LTC) had the second highest market capitalization among all coins.

During this time, the first Proof-of-Stake cryptocurrencies were conceptualised. Several hybrid Proof-of-Work and Proof-of-Stake tokens emerged in 2013, with Peercoin (PPC) leading the way. PPC was the foremost hybrid PoW/PoS blockchain introduced to the crypto community by a developer using the alias Sunny King.

On August 20th, 2013, XRP (then known as Ripple) was the only coin not using a proof-of-work consensus protocol. The remaining nine cryptocurrencies in the top ten operated on proof-of-work, while some were hybrid PoW/PoS coins - the latter employing both proof-of-work and proof-of-stake for network operations.

In the past, ten years ago, the top ten were occupied by PoW and hybrid coins such as bitcoin (BTC), litecoin (LTC), namecoin (NMC), peercoin (PPC), feathercoin (FTC), novacoin (NVC), primecoin (XPM), terracoin (TRC), and infinitecoin (IFC). Presently, on August 20, 2017, only six PoW coins continued to feature in the top ten. They were BTC, ETH, BCH, LTC, DASH, BCH, and LTC.

It is regrettable to acknowledge that the second cryptocurrency is no longer included in the prestigious group of legitimate cryptocurrencies. What prompted Vitalik Buterin and his Foundation to make this decision?

The problems with Ether stem from its persistent token optimization, rather than issues with decentralization, security, and fault tolerance. It seems that the proposed "merger" and POS will result in a thorough regulatory takeover of ETH by centralised exchanges and staking platforms, and Ethereum lacks any alternatives.

How did decentralised Ether end up in this predicament? The decision to mandate a 32 ETH minimum for staking within the protocol undermined the asset's decentralisation. The Proof-of-Stake (POS) system has been designed to be as centralised as possible, and furthermore, the individuals involved in Vitalik's experiment lack the "Not your keys, not your coins" ethos often found in Bitcoin culture.

Sixty-six percent of validators are subject to OFAC, KYC, AML, and Basel-3 regulations. Additionally, staked Ethers cannot be withdrawn due to tokenomics regulations. This prompts the question of decentralisation and the distinction between Ether and the US dollar. The answer lies solely in Ether's volatility.

Vitalik created Ether after grasping the principles of a decentralised cryptocurrency system devised by Satoshi Nakamoto. However, there appears to be some confusion about the central idea. Forecasts and insights suggest that Ether could reach £100 shortly, a prediction that holds some credibility.

#cryptocurrency #Ethereum #PoW #PoS #stablecoins #decentralization #blockchain

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