A 101 Guide to Ethereum's ProgPOW Controversy

Why the ProgPoW debate is really about process, power, and the threat contentious hard forks pose to DeFi.

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Why the ProgPoW debate is really about process, power and the threat contentious hard forks pose to DeFi.

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Last Friday, on Ethereum’s core developer call, the devs agreed to push forward a controversial anti-ASICs consensus algorithm switch known as ProgPoW.

The broader Ethereum community was not pleased, and has spent the last week debating both ProgPoW itself as well as the way decisions in the community get made.

In this 101-guide to the controversy, @nlw breaks down:

  • What is ProgPoW
  • The history of the debate
  • Arguments for and against
  • Who falls on what side and why
  • The implications of ProgPoW for DeFi

For more episodes and free early access before our regular 3 p.m. Eastern time releases, subscribe with Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pocketcasts, Google Podcasts, Castbox, Stitcher, RadioPublica, IHeartRadio or RSS.

ER June 2026 Image

CEX trading volumes rose for the first time in five months in June, with spot climbing 15.3% to $1.11T and RWA perpetual volumes surging to a record $311B.

Why it matters:

CEX trading volumes rose for the first time in five months in June, with spot climbing 15.3% to $1.11T and RWA perpetual volumes surging to a record $311B.