Pressure Mounts for Ethereum Developers as ASIC Miners Begin Dominating Hashrates  

Ethereum was (and still is) the poster-child for GPU mining. It shoulders a huge symbolic image of cryptocurrency mining. By the 2017 “cryptocurrency mania,” Bitcoin mining was already in the controls of those holding large amounts of powerful ASIC miner. Ethereum, on the other hand, was very profitable to mine and anyone could do it. From gamers with powerful GPU cards, to hobbyists with some money to experiment with, to college students “borrowing” electricity from their dorm rooms, and of course to early-adopting entrepreneurs that invested large amounts into facilities making a killing. Ethereum mining is not only symbolic to all the beneficiaries, but the entire blockchain and cryptocurrency industry: it brought the idea and concept of “mining” mainstream.

https://medium.com/hackernoon/pressure-mounts-for-ethereum-developers-as-asic-miners-eagerly-await-next-weeks-hardfork-76f558b1d2d