James Atkins
Editor
Editor
Tim Beiko, a developer at the Ethereum Foundation, reveals that the ultimate switch to proof-of-stake could be subject to delay.
ETH 2.0 was due to enter its final stage – ETH 1.0 and ETH 2.0 would have merged; in the second quarter of this year.
However, Beiko states that this may not happen until later in the year.
Beiko, who believes that Ethereum miners should not be purchasing new mining equipment right now, reveals the delay early Wednesday morning.
He said that ETH 2.0 could be pushed back due to a “bug fix release” that is currently being worked on.
“It will not be in June, but it’ll be in the few following months.
There is no exact date yet, but we’re clearly at the end of PoW on Ethereum.” he adds.
This news will likely come as a disappointment to ETH investors who have been eagerly awaiting the full launch of ETH 2.0.
The long-awaited ETH 2.0 upgrade was initially supposed to launch in 2020; however, it has been subject to several delays.
ETH 2.0 is a major upgrade to the Ethereum network that will see it move from proof-of-work (PoW) to proof-of-stake (PoS).
The first phase of ETH 2.0, Phase 0, went live on 1 December 2020 with the launch of the Beacon Chain.
This phase is designed to set up the foundations for ETH 2.0; including introducing the PoS consensus mechanism to the Ethereum network.
ETH 2.0 is a multi-phase upgrade that will see Ethereum move from its current PoW consensus algorithm to PoS.
The entire ETH 2.0 upgrade is expected to take several years to complete.
However, the Beacon chain runs alongside the Ethereum Mainnet, which continues to rely on mining to secure it.
Ethereum’s developers have been working on ETH 2.0 since 2015 and the protocol has been through multiple iterations and testnets.
The ETH 2.0 launch process began in earnest in 2020 with the release of the ETH 2.0 deposit contract on 4 November 2020.
The Merge will see the Mainnet and Beacon Chain join together, with mining being entirely removed from staking as a security measure.
The “merge” is seen as the beginning of shard chains, a significant step in the quest for scalability, security, and sustainability.
This is essential for Ethereum since it seeks to maximize the value of society.
The blockchain network now supports the most decentralized finance (DeFi) projects; non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and other applications.
ETH 2.0’s p Ethereum’s long-awaited ETH 2.0 upgrade is still on track for a 2022 release.
Though the final “merge” stage of the upgrade may not happen until Q2, according to Danny Ryan.
ETH 2.0 is a complete redesign of the Ethereum network and is being built in multiple phases.
The final stage, ETH 2.0 Phase 1, is set to see the launch of the ETH 2.0 Beacon Chain. This will be followed by ETH 2.0 Phase 2, which will introduce shard chains.
It’s worth noting that ETH 2.0 is not a hard fork and is backward compatible with ETH 1.0; meaning that ETH 1.0 addresses are still usable on ETH 2.0.
Ethereum enthusiasts will be disappointed by this announcement; while some investors will wait, others may not be able to wait.
However, what is certain is this news will affect the market value of Ethereum one way or the other.
It will be nice to know what you think about this Ethereum merge delay.
I have been writing copy for blockchain-related projects since 2017. I understand the importance of being able to communicate clearly and effectively with both technical and non-technical audiences. By leveraging my understanding of the crypto industry trends, I can help increase adoption in this rapidly evolving landscape.
