The much-anticipated transition to Ethereum 2.0 is set to start on the Ethereum blockchain. The shift from a proof-of-work (PoW) base to a proof-of-stake (PoS) base is often referred to as the so-called "merge" — slated to take place on Sept. 15.
- Bellatrix update: The successful completion of the merge depends on the Bellatrix upgrade, which is scheduled for later today. Before the final merging, the Ethereum Epoch value is expected to increase to 144,896 on the PoS chain. The Ethereum Foundation defines an epoch as the time it takes to mine 30,000 blocks.
- Paris update: This will take place after the merge, consolidating the PoS chain with the existing execution layer. It marks the transition from a PoW validation method to a PoS validation mechanism, ending Ethereum Blockchain mining.
A Summary Of The Changes
The Ethereum network was built using PoW methodology, like Bitcoin.
This implies that the ETH token is produced by mining, which consumes a lot of energy. However, numerous measures have been done to transition to a PoS paradigm with ETH 2.0, which debuted in 2020.
The goal is to increase the Ethereum network's productivity, speed, and scalability so that more transactions may be handled concurrently.
The capacity will rise from the current 20 transactions per second to 1,000–1,500 transactions per second.
And if an external solution (roll-up) is implemented, this number might possibly reach 100,000 transactions per second.
Reducing Energy
Additionally, the adjustment would drastically reduce energy use. This would resolve the criticism that blockchain technology often faces: that it is detrimental to the environment.
What Happens After The Merge?
Ethereum developer Vitalik Buterin rated the project's development progress at 55% earlier this year. He also identified the phases Ethereum must go through in order to reach 100%.
During the Bellatrix upgrade, the Beacon Chain will be connected to the Ethereum mainnet and the PoW consensus method will be totally replaced by PoS.
The Beacon Chain launched on Dec. 1, 2020. Since then, Ethereum 2.0 has been steadily implemented through a number of stages. With the Beacon Chain update, staking — a crucial element of PoS conversion — is introduced to the Ethereum chain.
Beacon Chain is a separate blockchain from the Ethereum mainnet.
Rollups
Rollups make use of an Ethereum sidechain to combine and process several transactions at once.
The layer two scaling solution, zk-rollups, will be introduced as the next stage of the surge. The mainnet will experience less strain by having data processed elsewhere.
Storage capacity is improved, and node size is reduced. This will increase the number of chain verification participants.
After that, the purge stage gets rid of unnecessary past data, and the splurge stage is expected to make usage easier.
Sharding
A distributed database method called sharding accelerates both network and database operations.
If sharding is employed, the trade ledger will accommodate several users connecting to the blockchain simultaneously. To speed up processing, Ethereum 2.0 plans to use 64 shard chains.
Industry analysts claim that Serenity, the name given to the completeness of Ethereum, may be realized beyond 2023.
According to Buterin, once "merge, surge and sharding" finish, Ethereum will be around 80% complete.
Future Plans
Ethereum aims to become the de facto blockchain platform. Nevertheless, it can only process 15 transactions per second. Visa, on the other hand, can process 50,000 transactions per second.
Will Ethereum 2.0 be able to address the problems consumers face with slow performance and expensive gas?
Other layer one blockchains like Cardano, Tezos, Polkadot, and Aptos are gaining market popularity by claiming to be "Ethereum killers." They all set out to speed up the network while preserving security. Blockchains on layer one are not the only ones.
In order to reduce gas prices and transaction times, layer two scaling solutions are now taking shape on the Ethereum blockchain.
Polygon and Arbitrum assert that they are complementary to Ethereum by processing and managing transactions off-chain before closing them on the main Ethereum blockchain, for example. In the future, they also hope to reach layer one.
Numerous outcomes may take place due to the Ethereum update. A decrease in the supply of Ethereum is one of the expected results, which would raise the value of cryptocurrencies.
According to Darren Langley, general manager of staking provider Rocket Pool, recently said the merge may ease worries that rising interest rates and inflation are sending cryptocurrencies and equities into a lengthy down market.
