- Ethereum merge set for August 2022
- Ethereum merge will move the token from proof of work, to proof of stake
The up and coming Ethereum network upgrade has received a brand new update on its calendar – with August 2022 set as the new confirmed date of the merge. The merge – which has been delayed a number of times since it was first announced has just gone through another round of development testing.
Ethereum Merge Date Timetable
| Date | Action |
|---|---|
| 12th April 2022 | Core Ethereum developer Tim Beiko confirms Ethereum Merge will happen in the months after June on Twitter. |
| 19th May 2022 | Ethereum devs confirm summer 2022 merge ‘if everything goes to plan’ |
| 25th May 2022 | Buterin confirms August 2022 merge date |
| August 2022 | Current confirmed date for the merge |
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What is the Ethereum Merge?
The Ethereum ‘merge’ refers to a highly anticipated event on the Ethereum 2.0 path that will see Ethereum mainnet merge with the beacon chain PoS system. The blockchain will then be secured by staking ETH.
Eth 2.0 Merge Hold Ups
The necessary code was originally due to be completed by as early as February, according to the Ethereum Foundation community manager Tim Beiko – but this was held up development delays.
Tim Bieko in February 2022We think ~4 months is a generous timeframe from having the code done to seeing the merge on mainnet. We think there’s a chance [that the code being done] can [happen] by February (obviously, still a lot of unknowns!), so we decided to set the [difficulty] bomb based on that.
In this statement, Bieko is referring to the difficulty bomb which will make Ethereum impossible to mine. The difficulty bomb is set to go off in December in the so-called Arrow Glacier upgrade. This was delayed back in August, during the London upgrade, and was then pushed back further to June 2022. Since then, a seemingly final date of August 2022 has been announced.
Buy Ethereum Before the Merge
Ethereum Balances Speed with Safety
Bieko clarified in February:, “To be clear, if the merge was ready before, we could do it prior to that.” The manager went on to suggest that the bomb can be pushed back even further if developers are not ready and that this will be discussed in a call around February. He went on to explain that they are aiming to have only one delay.
According to Bieko, “This strikes a balance between keeping the momentum going, ideally not pushing back the bomb twice, and having some buffer room for a longer than usual rollout and/or large hashrate changes on the network.” With that said, all participants have agreed that the most crucial component of the merge is that it is safe and well-tested. Many would be happy to push that bomb back twice if that is required.
In a Tweet on 15th October 2021, Bieko shared his views on pushing back the merge. He stated that pushing the merge back twice would disrupt the process but that having the merge too early could make it lose its forcing function utility.
According to Bieko, there is a lot of work to be done when planning for disaster recovery. The difficulty bomb is based on the current network hashrate. This means that, if the hashrate were to fall rapidly before the merge- as miners try to sell their mining rigs- the advent of the bomb could be accelerated and may happen weeks earlier.
On how to conduct a successful merge, Bieko suggested that Ethereum should create a set of clear milestones to follow. This very tactic helped Amphora to be a success and Bieko stated that this method should be followed for Ethereum 2.0.
Ethereum Key Facts
| Measurement | Data | |
|---|---|---|
| Global Ethereum owners | 14,000,000 | |
| Global Ethereum users | 10,000,000 | |
| % of Crypto owners that with Ethereum | 24.4% | |
| Ethereum market cap | $340bn | |
| Ethereum tokens in circulation | About 112,000,000 |
Some other interesting points about Ethereum include:
Ethereum ranks second after Bitcoin by market cap
The daily average value of ETH transactions stands at 1.16 million for February and March 2022
The average 24h transaction volume for ETH is roughly $16 billion.
Surveys between October and December 2021 discovered that ownership levels for ETH had decreased from 28.2% to 24.4%
What is the Ethereum merge?
The Ethereum ‘merge’ refers to a highly anticipated event on the Ethereum 2.0 path that will see Ethereum mainnet merge with the beacon chain PoS system.
What is proof of stake?
PoS (Proof of Stake) is a new consensus mechanism for verifying blockchain transaction using validators instead of traditional PoW miners. Validators are cryptocurrency holders who participate in “staking” via supported cryptocurrency wallets. In exchange, validators receive a reward based on the size of their “stake”
Will Ethereum increase in value after the merge?
The price of any cryptocurrency can go up or depending and the merge of Ethereum is only one factor that will impact the price of the coin.
