Japan’s bitFlyer Will ‘Pay Close Attention’ to Any Ethereum Proof-of-Work Hard Fork

The Japanese crypto exchange bitFlyer has said it will “pay close attention” to any hard forks that may happen as a result of Ethereum’s (ETH) transition from proof-of-work (PoW) to proof-of-stake (PoS), and that forked tokens that continue to rely on PoW could be supported.

Writing in a blog post published on Monday, bitFlyer did not clearly state whether any forked tokens will be supported, but said it will consider it “depending on the situation.”

“We will pay close attention to the value of ETHPoW tokens and requests from customers, and depending on the situation, we will consider granting and handling ETHPoW tokens in kind, or issuing cash equivalent to their value,” a rough translation of the Japanese blog post said.

The exchange added that it will need the approval of the Japanese Virtual Crypto Assets Exchange Association (JVCEA) before any new tokens can be handled.

Earlier this month, the major exchange Binance said it will “evaluate and consider support” for any forked ETH tokens, while FTX has said it will “evaluate the distribution” of any forked tokens. “If FTX decides to distribute forked tokens, we will distribute the tokens after the project has completed,” FTX added in its statement on the issue.

Similar wording was also used in a statement from OKX and other major crypto exchanges.

Earlier this month, the US-based crypto exchange Kraken opined in a report that there is no “black and white” answer to the PoW vs. PoS question. Instead, anyone thinking of using a blockchain network should develop a “nuanced understanding of the two and their trade-offs” to determine which option is “better suited” to their needs, the report said.

Ethereum's Merge - or transition from PoW to PoS - is expected to happen around September 15.