Ethereum merger: Will create a friendlier ecosystem

The era of Ethereum moving from Proof of Work to Proof of Stake is upon us. While Proof of Work is completely reliable and secure, there is a cost to ensuring consensus among thousands of nodes. Proof-of-work requires a lot of computing power to solve complex problems and therefore a lot of energy.

Proof-of-stake does not require energy-intensive devices, yet still allows for greater efficiency, increased decentralization, and resistance to censorship. Proof of Stake will become the new standard for the entire network. In this article, we explain Merge and explain how you can participate in it.

The steps required on the ethereum roadmap to achieve the merger include adding the beacon chain, removing the proof-of-work consensus layer, and merging proof-of-stake into the ethereum mainnet.

The Beacon Chain is a completely independent decentralized network that runs in parallel to the Ethereum mainnet, using a proof-of-stake consensus mechanism instead of Ethereum's current proof-of-work consensus mechanism.

The purpose of the Beacon Chain is to support the transition from Proof of Work to Proof of Stake, the first step needed to complete the merger.

The transition to the Beacon Chain began in November 2020 when the one-way bridge began moving the proof-of-work chain to the proof-of-stake chain and began accepting deposits. A month later, the Beacon Chain launched and received millions of ETH through multiple validators. So far, the Beacon Chain has not experienced any downtime or network disruption.

Merge is a planned Ethereum network upgrade that will remove the proof-of-work consensus layer and merge Beacon Chain's proof-of-stake network into the current Ethereum mainnet. The consensus mechanism of Ethereum is the contribution of the network after Eth1. Eth1 is called the execution layer. This will soon be deprecated as we migrate to Eth2 and will now be renamed The Merge.

The merger will focus on upgrading the consensus mechanism and aligning it with its original mission: migrating from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake, validating transactions on the blockchain, and adding new blocks.

During the merge, the consensus layer will be upgraded while the data layer will remain unchanged. Ethereum's blockchain data is structured, so it consists of two basic elements: pointers and linked lists.

A linked list is a list of linked blocks that contain data and use pointers to previous blocks. Since the merger is not a release of a new version of Ethereum, but an upgrade, the data layer will not be affected in the process.

Once this transition is complete, Ethereum will now be in a more sustainable and eco-friendly ecosystem.

After the merge, the Ethereum blockchain will add new features through individual upgrades, post-merge cleanups, and sharding. Some of the planned features include features that allow stakers to withdraw staked ETH, among other features.

A post-merge "cleanup" upgrade will address these features, which is expected to happen shortly after the merge is complete.

Finally, the sharding process will be used to further scale Ethereum. Currently, Ethereum can only process 15 transactions per second. With sharding, Ethereum will be able to scale thousands of transactions by splitting the blockchain into "shards" (separate chains).

Sharding is a common Web2 strategy for scaling databases. However, using Ethereum will lower the threshold for verifiers to store and run data, which is more convenient than running the entire blockchain. With shard chains, it will soon be possible to run an Ethereum node from our laptop or mobile device.

If the merger fails, it could have a knock-on effect affecting other blockchains and ecosystems that rely on Ethereum.

The promise of an Ethereum merger is great, but it also brings risks for all Ethereum network participants.

The merger plays an important role in making changes to current agreements that manage hundreds of billions of dollars in assets. It is understood that the "merger" has been delayed several times.

The most recent delay was in June, when it was announced that the merger would not take place in June, but a few months later. The merger is expected to launch in the third or fourth quarter of 2022.

Ethereum serves as the base layer for thousands of decentralized applications (dApps). A failed merger could affect many dapps, from altcoins like Basic Attention Token (BAT), to L2s like Polygon (MATIC), to metaverse tokens like Sandbox . Additionally, NFTs, DAOs, and other encryption technologies may be affected.

If the merger fails to meet expectations, Ethereum currently has 4 independent client-implemented proof-of-stake Ethereum nodes. This means that proof-of-stake node operators can switch to a different client if they encounter problems.

1. Stakers earn unburned fees

   Not all Ethereum is burned in the form of transaction fees. Unburned fees or tips from the executive layer are sent to stakers. This is due to the proof of stake that will exist after the merger. In addition to the new Ether being used as block rewards, we also get 30% of all transaction fees.

   
   

2. Withdraw ETH

   We cannot withdraw ETH after the merge. There will be another update in about 6 months, at which time ETH will be withdrawable. The ETH we hold will be locked until the release of the ETH update that can be proposed. The goal of merging is to keep it simple and focus on one step at a time.

   
   

3. Merger will lower gas costs

   Sharding will reduce gas costs, but that will be the focus of the merger. This later stage is expected in 2023. Layer 2 will also start to play a bigger role after the merger.

   
   

4. ETH is required to run a node after the merge

   This is another misunderstanding. Ethereum never needs ETH to run a node. We can stake validators and add transactions to the blockchain, and we can monitor nodes and send transactions to the mempool through our own nodes. Running a node is easy and easily accessible. No ETH is required to run a node.

   
   

5. New ETH2 tokens will exist and be minted

   But this is not the case, because there will be no new network on the Ethereum network, and there will be no new tokens. This is why the Ethereum Foundation is doing away with the terms "Eth1" and "Eth2".

Recently, ethereum developers ran a test called the Kiln merge tesnet, which allows the community to practice running nodes, deploying contracts, testing infrastructure, and more.

The Kiln testnet uses a "shadow fork" that inherits the state of the existing testnet and allows us to stress test synchronization assumptions and assumptions about how long it takes to build a block/timeout. Kiln is expected to be the last merged testnet before the upgrade of the existing public testnet.

The main concern is that Ethereum encourages users to continue testing the merge to ensure it is fully functional before the actual merge event.

Most of the testnet and mainnet will be determined in the future. The purpose of these tests is to find potential problems and fix them as quickly as possible. This will make developers more familiar with Ethereum after the merger.

Putting it all together, ethereum developer Time Beiko predicts that, as a “rough estimate,” the merger could happen in July 2022. Ethereum developer Marius Van Der Wijden said it was only a matter of time before the merger became a historic event.

We can help in many ways, from staking ETH to running the client, finding and reporting bugs, and even joining the Ethereum development Discord channel.

If you currently own Ethereum, you have the ability to stake it into the blockchain. This will allow users to become validators, enabling them to earn rewards while also securing the network.

Staking is more sustainable for the environment. There are several ways of staking in Ethereum, including solo staking, staking as a service, centralized staking, and staking through centralized exchanges.

We can also run clients if interested in helping Ethereum more deeply. This means we will be able to run software that can run the blockchain, check transactions and create new blocks. Ethereum provides distribution of clients.

Finally, for those of you with a more technical background, hunting for bugs in Ethereum is probably one of the most helpful tasks we can do. Reporting bugs can earn you $50,000. Ethereum also has a leaderboard showing the top bug hunters.

Also, getting involved with the Ethereum community through the Eth Research and Development Discord can also help. They have a dedicated Merge #testing channel for people to collaborate!

Source: https://www.web3.university/article/the-ethereum-merge