Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang discusses Ethereum's transition to PoS, engineers, and the virtual universe Omniverse

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang sat down for an interview with the US tech media VentureBeat to discuss Ethereum's transition to PoS and the metaverse, two highly relevant topics in the cryptocurrency space.

Ethereum's Shift to Proof of Stake (PoS): What Does This Mean?

The goal of Ethereum 2.0 is to transition from a proof-of-work mining mechanism dominated by computing power to a proof-of-stake (PoS) form of staking, signaling the end of an era where mining rewards were obtained through hardware arms races. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, when asked about PoS, mentioned that both Bitcoin and Ethereum have used Nvidia's GPUs for mining, establishing a trusted and broad network. Regarding Ethereum's shift to PoS, Huang is optimistic, stating that Ethereum will become more valuable.

He mentioned that their CMP mining-specific graphics cards can still be used for mining, and the dedicated nature of CMP addresses the issue of graphics card supply affecting gamers. Nonetheless, he stated that the demand for cryptocurrency mining will persist.

Engineers and the Virtual Universe Omniverse

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang described the metaverse as a shared virtual world where people interact, communicate, and enjoy activities like time travel in a 3D environment, complete with real design, economy, and virtual avatars. He mentioned that virtual worlds can exist in games like Fortnite and World of Warcraft or be realized in AR augmented reality, allowing people to experience NFTs in a virtual world by simply using 3D glasses or a smartphone.

Huang emphasized that in industrial applications, the most critical aspect of virtual worlds is the VR simulation environment that adheres to physics, such as natural object movements and realistic lighting effects. This is what Nvidia's engineers are working on with the virtual universe, Omniverse, which has been tested by over 400 companies, including BMW's digital factory and global advertising giant WPP Group.

He believes that Omniverse creates a more realistic virtual universe and predicts a larger market, industry, and community of designers and creators in the virtual world, designing digital items there instead of in the physical world. The economy in the virtual world will be larger than in the physical world, where digital currencies and cryptocurrencies can be utilized. Huang mentioned that this world must be completely open, which is why they use Pixar's invented scene description language USD, where intelligent agents can freely enter and exit through AR, and people can visit Omniverse through VR. Ultimately, Omniverse can be extensively used and exist in the cloud.