Ethereum Is Inches Closer To The Merge

If Everything Goes Without Any Hiccups, This Would Be The Final Test Before The Main Event, Rumored To Happen In September

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Ethereum is getting ready to make one of the largest and most significant changes in a crypto project since the inception of cryptocurrencies. The shift from a proof-of-work consensus algorithm to a proof-of-stake is however not an easy task.

Nevertheless, Ethereum developer Tim Beiko announced that the community is preparing the last details before the Merge event. In order to streamline the process, Ethereum developers deployed several test blockchains and already tried the Merge on several of them.

The Goerli testnet - the closest simulation of the Ethereum mainnet, would undergo a Merge event between August 6 and 12, with a Bellatrix preparation update scheduled for August 4.

Interestingly, the Merge is harder than it seems, as now node operators have to update both the consensus layer (CL) and execution layer (EL) clients in tandem, rather than just one of the two. The two-stage update process starts with a network upgrade, Bellatrix, on the consensus layer, while Paris would update the execution layer.

However, in order for Paris to become live, Ethereum’s Goeril testnet must reach Terminal Total Difficulty (TTD) of 10790000 before kicking in action.

The Merge architecture

Once the TTD value has been reached, new blocks on Goeril would be created solely from a Beacon Chain validator, which in turn disables Ethereum mining.

“We consider The Merge to have been completed once the Beacon Chain has finalized this block. Assuming normal network conditions, this should happen 2 epochs, or approximately 13 minutes, after the first post-TTD block is hit!” Beiko noted.

After the Merge, node operators must update their clients, since the proof-of-stake mechanism now relies on a consensus layer (CL) client, which runs the proof-of-stake Beacon Chain, and an execution layer (EL) client, which manages the user-state and runs the computations associated with transactions. Furthermore, the Engine API would serve as a communication layer between the clients.

Validators on the Beacon Chain will need to run an execution layer client after The Merge, in addition to their consensus layer clients, as it was strongly recommended before, but not mandatory.

When will Ethereum transition?

According to various sources, Ethereum developers scheduled the mainnet merge for September 19, but the official statement from Ethereum is in sharp contrast. 

"The time for the Ethereum mainnet proof-of-stake transition has not been set. Any source claiming otherwise is likely to be a scam. Assuming no issues are found during the Goerli/Prater merge, once clients have feature-complete releases, a slot height will be chosen for the Bellatrix upgrade on the mainnet Beacon Chain and a total difficulty value will be set for the mainnet transition. Clients will then make releases to enable The Merge on mainnet".

The dev team wrote, emphasizing that if any problem with the Goeril Merge occurs, it would be fully addressed before going in for the real deal on Ethereum’s mainnet.

ETH price explodes

Shortly after the original publication by Ethereum’s development team, the price of the second-largest crypto to date exploded, reaching a monthly high of $1,666.88 per ETH.

Now, after a moderate correction, Ethereum trades for $1,637.40 per ETH, according to data from Cryptobrowser.io

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