The Ethereum network has finally completed its long-awaited upgrade, The Merge, on Thursday, September 15, 2022. The upgrade saw the merging of the Ethereum mainnet execution layer and the Beacon Chain’s consensus layer.
We merged! What a surreal feeling after working on the beacon chain for two years and the merge for two years. This was the most complex project I’ve ever participated and it wouldn’t have been possible without all the brilliant minds. History was made today! Congrats! ????
— terence.eth @ ethberlin (@terencechain) September 15, 2022
Ethereum Transitions to Proof-of-Stake
The successful completion of this upgrade represents Ethereum’s transition from its current proof-of-work (PoW) system to the more energy-efficient proof-of-stake (PoS) system. The network’s transition to PoS marks the beginning of a new era for the Ethereum blockchain and the entire cryptocurrency industry.
For the longest time, Ethereum has been chastised by critics for its large carbon footprint via mining. However, with the transition, the network is now expected to consume a whopping 99.95% less energy than it previously did.
Ethereum’s developers also pointed out that the upgrade will increase the network’s security and scalability. The Ethereum network boasts a $60 billion ecosystem of decentralized apps (dApps), crypto exchanges, non-fungible token (NFT) marketplaces, and more.
The Merge has been in the works for several years, eagerly awaited by Ethereum enthusiasts and critics for the impact it is expected to have on the wider digital asset industry. According to Joseph Lubin, CEO of the blockchain software technology company ConsenSys, the Merge is the third-most significant event in the crypto industry.
In an interview with Bloomberg, Lubin noted that The Merge will be “enormously impactful” for the entire industry while reflecting no problems for users or developers on the network. Lubin compared the transition process to a regular software upgrade that happens automatically.
Shortly after the completion of the Merge, Ethereum’s founder, Vitalik Buterin, celebrated the upgrade with a tweet.
And we finalized!
Happy merge all. This is a big moment for the Ethereum ecosystem. Everyone who helped make the merge happen should feel very proud today.
— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) September 15, 2022
The Way Forward
Despite being a pivotal step for the Ethereum ecosystem, the Merge is only one step in a longer process. Vitalik noted that Ethereum will only be about 55% complete after the Merge.
Following the successful completion of the Merge, Ethereum will soon be undertaking “the Surge, the Verge, the Purge, and the Splurge,” all aimed at making the network more efficient.
Controversies surrounding the future of Ethereum’s PoW network had fueled Chandler Guo, a prominent crypto miner, to announce in the lead-up to the Merge that he would launch a hard fork to preserve Ethereum’s old chain.
While Ethereum developers mostly disregarded the attempts, Guo’s ETHPOW proposal managed to gain traction within the crypto community, even attracting the support of Tron’s founder, Justin Sun.
