🚀 Leeks, recently Ethereum (ETH) has become a hot topic again, and the price fluctuations are heart-wrenching! If you know what ETH is but are confused about POW and POS, today I'll explain the differences and the big deal of 'The Merge' in plain language. Ethereum initially used POW (Proof of Work), like a group of miners racing to solve super difficult math problems; whoever solves it first gets to keep the books and earn rewards 💸. However, this model consumes a lot of electricity, equivalent to running thousands of computers but only selecting one person, wasting energy for everyone else 😱, and ordinary people simply can't afford to play. Later, through an upgrade called 'The Merge', it switched to POS (Proof of Stake), where the gameplay became 'stake + lottery'; you have to lock in at least 32 ETH (or participate through staking pools), and the system randomly selects people to keep the books. If you perform well, you earn interest; if you do something bad, your deposit gets confiscated 💳, saving over 99% of energy and laying the foundation for future scalability. Although the transaction fees (Gas fees) haven't directly decreased, a portion of ETH transaction fees will be burned, potentially making it increasingly rare, with some jokingly calling it 'ultrasonic currency' 😎. Recent news shows that ETH's price, driven by market sentiment and institutional investment, has surpassed $4,000 in early 2025, and analysts predict that if the macro economy stabilizes and Rollup technology is implemented, it may reach $5,000 within the year, but the volatility risk remains high, so don’t blindly chase it! If you want to participate in staking to earn returns, remember to do your homework, as risks include platform failures and policy changes 📚. After reading this, do you understand a bit more? If you have questions, chat in the comments section, leave a message saying 'continue' and we'll break down more in the next issue. Like + follow, and become a 'blockchain expert'! 🚀 #加密货币 #ETH突破4000