The Merge is referring to the merging of two blockchains, Ethereum 1.0 (using Proof-of-Work to mine coins) and Ethereum 2.0 (using Proof-of-Stake and staking ETH to generate new coins). This can be seen as the most critical milestone in Ethereum’s 7-year operation and a hinge to deploy more scaling solutions based on Proof-of-Stake, as well as minimize the impact on environment by eliminating coin mining.
Although it has been expected for such a long time and started rolling out with tests in April, then respectively launched on Ethereum’s Ropsten and Sepolia testnets in June and July, The Merge could not be launched on time in August, due to various technical glitches in both Ethereum 2.0’s Beacon Chain and Ethereum 1.0’s testnet.
As such, in order to have more time to prepare and check for other bugs, the Ethereum team decided to delay the “difficulty bomb” mechanism through the Gray Glacier hard fork at the end of June. This mechanism increases the difficulty of ETH mining, in order to push miners out of the network and clear the way for Proof-of-Stake. This is a must-go step before ETH transitions to Ethereum 2.0.
According to estimates from blockchain data, the “difficulty bomb” will be activated around September 11, more than a week before The Merge goes live. In the latest meeting of Ethereum developers, the official timeline for The Merge to unleash is September 19. Before that, Ethereum will test The Merge on the third testnet, Goerli, around August 11.
However, this is only an approximate timeframe, it is not certain that The Merge will take place on time. If technical problems continue, Ethereum developers can delay the “difficulty bomb” launching schedule and push The Merge to release at the end of the year.
In many experts’ opinion, The Merge is the only noteworthy event remaining in 2022 after a turmoil period of the crypto market.
Compared to the peak of $3,580 in early April, Ethereum is currently down 66% to only $1,223 at press time.
Follow our channels for more crypto news:
- Cryptory Insights: https://t.me/CryptoryInsights
- Cryptory Global Community: https://t.me/CryptoryCommunity
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CryptoryNetwork
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/CryptoryNetwork