Vitalik Buterin Plays Down Impact of Ethereum Forks After Merge

The blockchain plans to switch to a proof-of-stake (PoS) mechanism, an event known as The Merge, next month in a move developers say will make it cheaper, faster and environmentally friendly. The change from a proof-of-work (PoW) system will end an income stream for Ethereum miners, who are rewarded with ether (ETH) tokens for their efforts. Miners produced over $620 million worth of ether in July alone, data show. Tron founder Justin Sun has emerged as one of the most prominent investors supporting a hard fork to keep the money flowing.