The merge is finally coming – maybe
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A while has passed since the announcement of Ethereum 2.0. Many users have staked their original Ethereum tokens only to have them locked in place for a long time. With many wondering about the future of the token it seems that a date has finally been given for the release of the new Proof-of-Stake system for Ethereum.
The new update known as the merge is a transition from the work-heavy , power-draining Proof-of-Work system to a system of Proof-of-Stake that is more environmentally friendly. Original transactions on the Proof-of-Work system are validated a bit differently than what will occur in the update. Currently , transactions are mined by a decentralized network that races to solve puzzles mathematically thus rewarding tokens for their work, this type of work is very energy-intensive.
The new system -akin to Solana’s, will switch to a consensus mechanism that is 99% more efficient energy-wise. The PoS system has transactions confirmed by staked addresses that have pledged to a smart contract. Those users that have staked more ETH will earn more rewards, this also means the rich get richer but it makes transactions move much faster. It should be noted that the merge itself is not the answer to high gas prices as that is still up to future upgrades that will be used to lower costs. The upgrade has the name of Ethereum 2.0 but this name has been discarded since early 2022.
The team of developers have decided on a September 19 date to roll out the merge and one developer – a Beacon Chain community manager known as superphiz.ETH, was kind enough to tweet on the excitement being felt in the office around the launch, also giving a bit of a timeline.
For those not in the know the Beacon Chain is the Proof of Stake version of Ethereum that is currently running adjacent to the Ethereum mainnet, this was launched in December of 2020 and was the catalyst of a multi-stage upgrade. The merge event is meant to move Ethereum to Beacon.
More details were given on the merge including information about final trials conducted on the last of the Ethereum testnet -Goerli. The merge is meant to move Ethereum into a new era of service that will depend on validations and not miners. On the Ethereum network validations will refer to any entity that has a minimum of 32 Ethereum deposited on the Beacon Chain. The entity is rewarded for maintaining a high uptime and preventing fraudulent activity. Ethereum will join the likes of Solana, Avalanche, and Cosmos but will have the added benefit of being the most popular of all of those networks.
