Vitalik Buterin expects Proof-of-Work blockchains Dogecoin and Zcash to transition to Proof-of-Stake in the near future. Both might follow Ethereum’s lead and change their consensus models, Vitalik said at the Mainnet blockchain event.
To put things in perspective, both Zcash and Dogecoin belong to the top 10 list as far as PoW cryptos are concerned. In fact, Dogecoin, currently in the second spot, has filled the void left by Ethereum in the PoW roll of honor. However, both blockchains rely on specialized mining hardware and use an enormous amount of power as part of the block validating operations. The shift to the PoS consensus will allow the blockchains to use validators and lower dependence on electricity.
The Ethereum co-founder’s pro-PoS discourse can be found across the following Twitter thread:
Selkis: Should all networks move to PoS?
"I'd say should … as PoS matures I would expect it to increase in legitimacy over time. I hope @zcash moves over and I am hopeful @dogecoin moves to PoS soon," — VB#mainnet2022
— Messari (@MessariCrypto) September 23, 2022
Vitalik also went on to say that while privacy is a major blockchain-specific operational concern, scalability is also as important. Transaction costs associated with blockchains need to come down if this nascent technology is to become mainstream, he opined.
However, it is important to note that Vitalik isn’t randomly asking the PoW cryptos to make the PoS shift. Long before the mainnet event, the company behind Zcash (Electronic Coin Company) had expressed interest in implementing PoS. Zcash floated the idea in mid-2021, followed by Dogecoin. However, things didn’t work out as expected as changing the consensus algorithm is easier said than done. Even the crypto giant Ethereum could implement the transition after much deliberation.
Yet, the process is intricate enough, and community-wide discussions will be necessary to implement the possible network changes if and when Dogecoin and Zcash consider the switch to PoS.
