Ethereum Client OpenEthereum Support Has Ended As Merger Fast Approaches

One of the most popular ethereum (ETH) clients, OpenEthereum, has ended support for its software in preparation for an impending ethereum merger.

OpenEthereum creates "clients" or software for interacting with the Ethereum network, allowing anyone to create an Ethereum node to mine the cryptocurrency, currently using a proof-of-work (PoW) consensus mechanism.

The OpenEthereum team explained on Twitter that with the merger looming and the legacy codebase becoming “increasingly unmanageable” due to its age, it was time to end support.

Originally owned by blockchain infrastructure company Parity Technologies, the project transferred ownership to the OpenEthereum Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO) in December 2019.

At the time Parity wrote that they wanted to ensure that the codebase was "maintained and will continue to exist for as long as the community finds it useful." Now, OpenEthereum writes:

“Its usefulness has run its course and we look forward to the next phase of clean, green and massively scalable blockchain infrastructure.”

The OpenEthereum team wrote that a "well-documented" client is needed to "guide the upcoming merger and successful transition to proof-of-stake (PoS)," directing users to move clients to other providers such as Nethermind or Erigon.

Merge is the name of the planned Ethereum blockchain upgrade that will merge the existing proof-of-stake beacon chain, which was launched in December 2020, into the current proof-of-work mainnet for validating the network transaction.

The upgrade has been delayed since it was first proposed in 2016, with an initial deployment date set for 2019. The merger was originally expected to take place in mid-2022, but there was a delay in April.

Due to the impending merger of the Repsten testnet, ethereum developer Preston Van Loon said last week that the upgrade will take place in August 2022 "if all goes according to plan."