In April, developers working on ETH 2.0 network upgrade started testing how the changeover would operate on a shadow fork.
Two days later, Ethereum Foundation engineer Tim Beiko made an announcement on Twitter. According to the post, the update would need more time until the latter half of 2022.
It won't be June, but likely in the few months after. No firm date yet, but we're definitely in the final chapter of PoW on Ethereum
— timbeiko.eth ☀️ (@TimBeiko) April 12, 2022
‘The Merge’
ETH 2.0 network upgrade, also dubbed “The Merge,” is an update to the Ethereum network. This will transform it from a proof-of-work to a proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus mechanism.
And on June 8, Ethereum developers will update the Ropsten public testnet to proof-of-stake consensus. This will mark another step toward the long-awaited ETH 2.0 network upgrade.
Ethereum DevOps developer Parathi Jayanathi sent a pull request to the eth-clients GitHub project with the configuration code for updating the testnet on Monday.
On the Ethereum network, The Merge will signal the conclusion of proof-of-work mining.
In proof-of-stake, the responsibility for protecting the blockchain is up to individuals who control or hold a significant amount of money in the blockchain.
New ETH tokens are presently under minting. Simultaneously, transactions on the network go by validation through mining. The process entails using high-end, energy-intensive machines to solve complicated mathematical challenges.
Employing proof-of-stake
When the network is converted to proof-of-stake, “miners” will be replaced by “validators,” who stake or pledge ETH to verify and protect the network in exchange for ETH.
There is anticipation that this would dramatically lower the amount of energy the Ethereum blockchain consumes. However, it will also reduce new ETH issuance by about 90 percent, which, according to market observers, may add significant deflationary pressure on Ethereum if its demand stays high.
The allocated verification of digital currency transactions is in computers rather than having them compete in proof-of-stake. As a result, people or organizations who stake more of their Ethereum are more likely to obtain the labor — and the reward.
However, while the technology consumes significantly less power, some opponents claim that proof-of-stake blockchains are less secure.