Proof of Work vs The Merge

Proof of Work (PoW) is a consensus mechanism where miners compete to solve complex computational puzzles by finding valid hash outputs, with the winner earning the right to add the next block and receive cryptocurrency rewards while securing the network through computational expenditure.

Ethereum's landmark September 2022 transition from energy-intensive proof-of-work mining to efficient proof-of-stake validation, reducing the network's energy consumption by approximately 99.95% while maintaining security and decentralization.