The eagerly awaited Ethereum Merge will occur as planned on September 15–16, developers revealed at a Consensus Layer Call that was broadcast last Thursday.
Later, Tim Beiko of the Ethereum Foundation tweeted confirmation that the mainnet launch will take place once the desired Total Terminal Difficulty of 58750000000000000000000 is attained.
The Merge has been postponed a few times, most lately in June despite a successful “shadow fork test,” a process of transferring data from a mainnet network to a testnet, where programmers can test functionalities before incorporating them to the Ethereum network, and once more in May after a core developer of the Ethereum network, Preston Van Loon, announced at the Permissionless symposium that it will occur sometime in August.
All that is needed for the Merge to go live now that the Goerli testnet has successfully switched from a proof-of-authority to a proof-of-stake consensus on Wednesday evening is for the last upgrade, known as “Paris,” to occur on September 15. When Ethereum’s hash rate (a metric for network processing power) hits a specific threshold, this will take place.
The network is anticipated to become quicker, more scalable, and more energy-efficient as a result of the Ethereum Merge.
The network will switch from mining to staking as a result of the merger with the proof-of-stake beacon chain, where Ethereum owners can stake their cryptocurrency in exchange for rewards.
The switch will also facilitate user participation in network management, allowing for increased security and decentralization, and reducing ETH issuance by around 90%.
Ethereum’s price has been rising in the weeks preceding the Merge, a sign of the enthusiasm in the community for the occasion.
It is predicted to rise even further after the ‘Triple Halvening,’ once-in-a-lifetime phenomena brought on by the Merge, occurs.
Don’t miss important articles during the week. Subscribe to blockbuild weekly digest for updates.