Core Ethereum developer Tim Beikohas provided ideas and expectations for Ethereum application and protocol developers around the impending Merge.
The Merge is the transition of the Ethereum network from Proof-of-Work (PoW) to Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus. It will be the “Consensus Layer” at that point. And it may occur around August of this year.
Beiko advised users and developers to “pay attention and make sure you are ready” for the Merge.
Core Ethereum developer: “Pay attention”
Beiko advised ordinary app and protocol users to test things out. That is to verify that nothing breaks when undergoing additional tests.
Yes! Run stuff, if something is unclear or broken, leave a comment, as you probably aren’t the only one with that issue 😅 User PoV guides, how-go’s, etc. are always super useful, too! https://t.co/tyWqgVBSuc
— timbeiko.eth ☀️ (@TimBeiko) May 23, 2022
Beiko noted that such issues are unlikely to arise in a separate Twitter thread. That is because “99% of changes affect the protocol layer”. While “almost no changes are done to the application layer.”
Two changes
According to Beiko, developers should be aware that there will be two important changes to how smart contracts interact with the Merge. First, he reminded them that the approach for beacon randomization, which aids in executing apps, will change. This is a requirement for the PoS transition. And the announcement came in an Ethereum Foundation (EF) update in November.
The second change will be that block times will be less from 13 seconds to 12. Because of this change, smart contracts that use block production speed as a time measure will run one second faster following the Merge.
ETH investors concerned that their coins will be unlocked and dumped when the Merge occurs should relax. On May 23, DeFi instructor Korpi revealed on Twitter that unlocking ETH invested in the Beacon Chain is not possible without a network upgrade after the Merge. This includes staking-related rewards.