Gary DeWaal, special counsel and chair of the Financial Markets and Regulation group, spoke with Forbes about ether (ETH) — the virtual currency of the Ethereum blockchain — and what distinguishes it from other virtual currencies, as well as issues it may confront as the Ethereum blockchain migrates to a new proof of stake model, Ethereum 2.0. Gary noted that one of the unique benefits of the Ethereum blockchain is its processing speed for transactions. "New blocks are validated on the Bitcoin network once every 10 minutes while new blocks are validated on the Ethereum network once every 12 seconds." Ethereum 2.0 has the potential to increase transaction speed, but also could create uncertainty. Gary stated, "Many new validators will be required for Ethereum 2.0 to function. The question is will the migration work? There are a lot of new elements that have to fall into place!" In addition to its function as a medium of exchange, ether continues to be seen as an attractive investment asset for various reasons: "First, it has value and use as a virtual currency; second, the Ethereum blockchain could become more attractive when it migrates to the new protocol; and third, as more people utilize Ethereum distributed apps, demand for ETH may increase." ("What Is Ethereum And How Does It Work?," March 26, 2021)
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