The Ethereum network’s creators have specified dates in the month of September for the transition to proof of stake blockchain.
“The merging” is approaching—possibly even sooner than initially anticipated. The Ethereum Foundation announced on its blog on Wednesday that the upgrade will now be finished in its entirety between September 10 and 20.
Next month, in a much-discussed update known as “the merge,” Ethereum, the network that powers the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap, will switch from a proof-of-work consensus process to a proof-of-stake blockchain.
Dates for the long-awaited update to ETH 2.0 have been bandied about by developers for some time.
But today, the nonprofit Ethereum Foundation declared: “Following years of hard work, Ethereum’s proof-of-stake upgrade is finally here! The successful upgrade of all public testnets is now complete, and The Merge has been scheduled for the Ethereum mainnet.”
The update, which will occur in two phases, “Paris” and “Bellatrix,” was also mentioned. They will occur on September 6 and then on September 10 through September 20, respectively.
Ethereum now employs the same proof of work consensus algorithm as Bitcoin. Because of this, miners are needed to verify transactions and maintain network security. It is intended to be sluggish, expensive, and energy-intensive.
In contrast, Proof of Stake does away with miners altogether in favor of validators who “stake” (i.e., lock up) Ethereum to maintain network uptime and security. The only option to produce new ETH after the update will be to stake existing ETH on the network, which analysts predict might have a deflationary effect on the cryptocurrency.
The Ethereum Foundation claims that switching to proof of stake will make the network “99% more energy efficient.” Co-founder of the blockchain Vitalik Buterin also stated in July that he thinks the shift is “excellent for decentralization,” despite the claims of detractors that it will have the opposite effect.
Although Buterin recently pointed out that there are many more planned changes to come, Ethereum users have long discussed how the integration will enhance the network. Developers anticipate that these upgrades will also increase the network’s speed and effectiveness.
“Ethereum’s transition to proof-of-stake has been a loooong time coming,” the Ethereum Foundation today said.
“Thank you to everyone who contributed to researching, specifying, developing, analyzing, testing, breaking, fixing, or explaining everything that got us to The Merge.”
