AntPool Supports Ethereum Classic Ecosystem With $10M Investment

MIAMI — AntPool, the mining pool affiliated with mining rig giant Bitmain, has invested $10 million to support the Ethereum Classic ecosystem and plans to continue investing more, the pool's CEO, Lv Lei, said at Bitmain's World Digital Mining Summit on Tuesday.

While the Ethereum network is working to convert to a proof-of-stake (PoS) model, Ethereum Classic is slated to remain proof-of-work (PoW). PoS will drastically change how Ethereum validates blocks, adds them to the blockchain and issues new ether (ETH). In doing so, it will eliminate the need for specialized mining rigs, such as the ones Bitmain makes.

Ethereum Classic, however, will continue to mine its native ETC cryptocurrency using these rigs.

The initial $10 million investment went to the development and exploration of applications of the Ethereum Classic mainnet, as to promote the overall performance of the network.

Bitmain started selling its latest Ethereum mining model (the Antminer E9) earlier in July. The mining rig manufacturer also announced at the World Digital Mining Summit in Miami that it will be accepting payments in ETC for all of its Antminer models.

Read more: What Is 'the Merge' and Why Has It Taken So Long?