With The Merge update fast approaching, major entities in the ecosystem must decide whether or not they will support a potential fork of Ethereum (ETH). For its part, the non-fungible tokens (NFTs) platform OpenSea has announced that it will only support the proof-of-stake (PoS) version of Ethereum.

OpenSea will remain loyal to Ethereum (ETH)

OpenSea, the largest marketplace dedicated to non-fungible tokens, announced via Twitter that it would not support a possible fork of Ethereum (ETH) on its platform.

1/ The Merge is coming! Here’s what we’re doing to prepare…

— OpenSea (@opensea) August 31, 2022

Thus, OpenSea, whose overwhelming part of its processed volume comes from the Ethereum blockchain, will remain faithful to the “official” version of the network. NFTs from any new version of Ethereum in Proof-of-Work will therefore not be compatible :

First, and most importantly, we are committed to only supporting NFTs on the updated Ethereum PoS chain. Although we won’t speculate on potential forks – insofar as forked NFTs on ETHPoW exist – they will not be supported or represented on OpenSea. 

The platform also states that it has already started preparing for The Merge update and that it is confident about this transition :

Beyond our commitment to support the updated PoS chain, we prepared the OpenSea product to ensure a smooth transition. While we don’t anticipate any major issues, we also recognize that this is a first! We are therefore committed to monitoring, managing and communicating throughout the transition. 

The possible fork of Ethereum struggles to seduce

The long-awaited The Merge update, which is expected to arrive in the coming weeks, provides for a transition from the current proof-of-work (PoW) consensus to that of proof-of-stake (PoS) by merging the classic blockchain with the Beacon Chain.

However, this update does not please everyone, and for good reason, it will definitely end the Ether mining process, especially with the difficulty bomb. Some miners, most of whom have invested considerable sums in their equipment, therefore wish to continue their activity.

But this implies a clear differentiation between the future blockchain switched to proof of stake (with validators, therefore) and that possibly forked in order to retain the possibility of mining. This is why the important entities of the ecosystem, like OpenSea here, must decide in favor or not of a second blockchain.

Binance for example, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world, recently announced that it will support the forked version. The same decision for the Huobi Global exchange, which however imposed some conditions.

On the other hand, the company Circle, which issues the most capitalized stablecoin of the Ethereum blockchain, the USDC, has announced that it will uncompromisingly support the proof-of-stake version of Ethereum. Chainlink, the main oracle network in the ecosystem, will also not support the potential fork of Ethereum.