The “merge” is on its way, and it could happen sooner than expected. According to a blog post published on Wednesday by the Ethereum Foundation, the upgrade will now be completed between September 10 and September 20.
The Ethereum network, which powers the second-largest Cryptocurrency by market cap, will transition from a proof-of-work consensus mechanism to a proof-of-stake Blockchain next month in a much-discussed upgrade known as “the merge.”
For quite some time, developers have been tossing around dates for the long-awaited update to ETH 2.0.
However, the non-profit Ethereum Foundation announced today that after working hard for years, Ethereum’s proof-of-stake upgrade is finally here! All public testnets have been successfully upgraded, and The Merge has been scheduled for the Ethereum mainnet.
The update will take place in two phases, “Bellatrix” and “Paris,” and will occur on September 6 and then between September 10 and September 20, respectively, it added.
Ethereum currently employs the same consensus mechanism as Bitcoin, known as proof of work. This necessitates the use of miners to validate transactions and keep the network safe. By design, it is slow, expensive, and consumes a lot of energy.
Proof of stake, on the other hand, does away with miners entirely in favor of validators, who “stake”—or lock up—Ethereum to keep the network secure and operational. Following the update, the only way to generate new ETH will be to stake existing ETH on the network, which analysts predict will have a deflationary effect on the Cryptocurrency.
According to the Ethereum Foundation, switching to proof of stake will make Ethereum “99% more energy efficient.” The Blockchain’s co-founder, Vitalik Buterin, also stated in July that he believes the change is “great for decentralization,” despite critics who claim it will do the opposite.
Ethereum users have long discussed how the merger will improve the network, but Buterin recently stated that there are many more planned upgrades. Developers anticipate that the network’s speed and efficiency will improve as a result of these updates.
The Ethereum Foundation announced today that the transition to proof-of-stake has been a long time coming.
Thank you to everyone who helped us get to The Merge by researching, specifying, developing, analyzing, testing, breaking, fixing, or explaining everything.
