Ethereum (ETH) Hashrate Concentrated on Two Leading Pools

Ethereum’s network is considered relatively centralized by virtue of the hugely influential mining pools currently active.

Ethereum (ETH) has shown signs of relative centralization, similar to other leading currencies where mining pools exhibit extraordinary sway over the hashrate. Influential and powerful pools have a greater chance of winning block rewards, hence more miners have the incentive to join them.

However, a mining pool itself is highly unlikely to attack the network as it would be destroying its chief asset. Still, the centralization is worrying for some.

Top miners data reveal that Ethermine and Sparkpool produce around half the blocks as of January 8, but the situation may change with time. Lately, Ethereum miners have been fluctuating, especially with the prospect of a falling block reward in a few days.

The worries about the Ethereum network come amid attacks and double spends on the Ethereum Classic (ETC) network. However, the former seems more robust in comparison. The Ethereum network runs at roughly 200,000 GH/s, while the Ethereum Classic hashrate is just 9 TH/s. Also, it is much more difficult to hire hashing power for Ethereum since Nicehash has only 5% of the hashrate needed to even attempt an attack.

Additionally, Ethereum mining may evolve, with developers recently pointing to a possible upgrade to disable ASIC mining. In previous community and developer discussions, the Ethereum network was left without change, allowing for the E3 miners to inflate the hashrate.

ASIC are seen as having an unfair advantage, especially in a network that until recently depended on GPU mining. However, the loss of ASIC would leave the Ethereum network more vulnerable to attacks from GPU-based facilities.

These fresh doubts arrive at a time when ETH prices are at a crossroads. The asset has been stuck at around $150 for days. There are expectations for a rally above $200, but the upcoming Constantinople hard fork is not having an effect on price, at least for now. The upgrade is expected to be seamlessly integrated by miners on January 16, and most exchanges are ready to support it.