https://techcrunch.com/2022/09/15/miners-ethereum-classic-the-merge/

The Merge, the long-awaited software upgrade that promises to make Ethereum transactions a lot greener, is expected to put miners out of jobs. But miners are not quitting outright. With big bucks invested in computing hardware, many of them are seeking refuge in an alternative branch of Ethereum.

Ethereum Classic, a hard fork of the Ethereum network, saw its hash rate soar to a record high on Thursday morning shortly after the Merge was completed. Hash rate is the computational power used to approve transactions on a blockchain, a mechanism called proof-of-work. Following the Merge, Ethereum is switching to a consensus method called proof-of-stake. Instead of competing with powerful computers and essentially chips, node operators stake their cryptocurrencies to win the chance to validate transactions.