Ethereum Mining Alternative Ravencoin Jumps 85% Ahead of the Merge

By Jason Nelson

The value of Ravencoin is up over 85% over the last seven days in the final run-up to the Ethereum merge, according to data from CoinGecko. The pump in price comes as cryptocurrency exchange FTX announced the listing of Ravencoin perpetual futures today.

Ravencoin activity had already increased recently as proof-of-work miners sought alternatives, as mining Ethereum will soon no longer be an option.

Ethereum miners looking to continue their operations after the Ethereum blockchain switches to a proof-of-stake algorithm can mine Ravencoin.

Launched in 2018, Ravencoin, like Bitcoin before it uses a proof-of-work consensus algorithm blockchain with a max supply of 21 billion coins. Like Ethereum, RVN tokens issued on Ravencoin can be used for various purposes, including non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and decentralized applications. NFTs are cryptographically unique tokens linked to digital and physical content, showing proof of ownership or membership.

Ethereum currently uses the energy-intensive proof-of-work consensus mechanism. Until now, Ethereum mining was highly profitable as the ever-expanding ecosystem required thousands of miners to maintain the network, the cost of which surpassed millions of dollars in equipment.

When the merge occurs later this week, miners will be left with few options: give up their mining business and become ETH stakers or start mining other blockchains. While Ravencoin is not as well known or as used as the second largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, it can be mined with rigs that use graphics processing units (GPUs).

As for FTX, the increased interest in Ravencoin enables traders to take advantage of the potential increase in Ravencoin price and activity. Futures allow speculators to bet on where RVN goes from here.

Unlike traditional futures contracts, where buyers and sellers are obligated to execute the deal on a set date, perpetual futures don’t have an expiration, meaning traders can hold their positions indefinitely.

The news of the FTX offering was met with excitement from Ravencoin loyalists on social media.

“Ravencoin has amazing support from private sector professionals in the blockchain and security token ecosystem,” tweeted Leon Ravencoin. “It’s these professionals that help increase security token adoption and naturally with it Ravencoin adoption.”

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