The next-generation Ethereum system will be faster and leaner, moving from the power-hungry proof-of-work architecture to the environmentally friendly proof-of-stake alternative, and the inflationary creation of new Ether tokens will drop by 90%. Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) and Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) saw 24-hour gains of 3.9% and 3.2%, respectively, at 2 p.m. Ethereum rode along on Bitcoin's gains to some degree.