Sep 15, 2022 03:00AM ET
By:AnalysisWatch
After years of development and unfortunate setbacks, the most anticipated event in the cryptocurrency space, in which the second largest blockchain network, Ethereum, transitions to a new transaction processing system dubbed "The Merge," was a success. The event was completed at block 15537393.
Now that Ethereum has merged its previous mainnet with the proof-of-stake system on the Beacon blockchain, the Ethereum network employs the proof-of-stake mechanism instead of the energy-intensive proof-of-work mechanism. This development lays the groundwork for future scaling improvements, including fragmentation.
According to the Ethereum team, extensive testing and bug bounties have been conducted to ensure a safe transition to proof-of-stake.
The merger differs from previous network upgrades in two main ways. First, node operators have to upgrade their consensus layer and execution layer clients in unison, rather than just one of the two.
After the merger, Ethereum will see a 99.95% reduction in power consumption and a slightly higher transaction speed. However, the event will not translate into a decrease in transaction rates for Ethereum.
In particular, PoW proponents argue that the PoS scam has its own centralization and security issues, making it possible for bad actors to directly "buy" control of the network. They also argue that PoS is less reliable than PoW, which has proven resilient as the basis for Bitcoin and Ethereum networks.
Despite this, optimism among community members spread throughout the industry, with cryptomobiles such as Erik Voorhees, Billy Markus, and Justin Sun celebrating the merger and congratulating Buterin and the Ethereum team.
Despite the merger and the euphoria surrounding it, the network's native ETH token ETH is down 1.3% to change hands at $1,590.
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