19 May 2022 Jane Whitmoore
Ethereum Ready For Ropsten Testnet Update, Bringing In ETH 2.0
Ethereum, dubbed as the altcoin leader, is ready to deploy an update to its Ropsten public testnet, which would see ETH 2.0 support being released for the first time.
The update, scheduled for June 8, first appeared via pull code from Ethereum DevOps engineer Parathi Jayanathi (parithosh) earlier in May. The update would also bring a doubling of the rewards in Ethereum Foundation’s bug bounty, in a bid to hasten the development of the Ethereum mainnet client and provide reliable security and technical audits for its backend.
Ethereum 2.0 frenzy
The bounty program increase means Ethereum developers are working around the clock to bring the much-awaited proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus algorithm change, which would be among the top updates a crypto project is seeing. Nevertheless, the bug bounty program would keep its tiered system of rewards, providing bonuses for developers and penetration testers who can find critical vulnerabilities in the ETH 2.0 code. Such vulnerabilities, according to the Ethereum Foundation, may have a potentially devastating impact or may occur with a higher likelihood.
Prior to the update, bug hunters were eligible to receive up to $250,000 in ETH or DAI for their work. However, now the bounty program extends up to $500,000 worth of ETH or DAI for a reported bug.
"There are already multiple efforts being organized by client teams and the community to further increase knowledge and expertise across the two layers. Unifying the Bounty Program will further increase visibility and coordination efforts on identifying and mitigating vulnerabilities.", Ethereum developer Fredrik Svantes commented.
The long road
Ethereum has been updating its blockchain consensus algorithm for at least a year, with Ethereum developers conducting several tests on shadow forks, meaning that the behavior of the mainnet remains intact, while the operation of the shadow fork is exactly the same as the mainnet. This way Ethereum core developers tested out the new functionalities in a safe, non-live environment and created projections of how it will run once fully switched.
However, one of the leading Ethereum developers, Tim Beiko, noted that Ethereum’s proof-of-stake network is far from ready from a technical standpoint, which could put yet another delay in Ethereum’s quest to detach from mining and go towards transaction validation using staking algorithms.
“It won't be June, but likely in a few months after. No firm date yet, but we're definitely in the final chapter of PoW on Ethereum”, Beiko noted.
ETH 2.0 – faster and more eco-friendly?
The update would bring a massive energy cost reduction for Ethereum miners, which could no longer offer raw computing power in return for Ethereum tokens. Meanwhile, the rate at which new Ethereum tokens are released into the public space would also drastically fall, putting stronger deflationary pressure on the world’s second-largest crypto to date.
Crypto experts around the globe expect Ethereum to spike in price, but the biggest advantage comes in the faster transaction times and lower transaction fees than ETH 2.0 enthusiasts are expecting, especially in the DeFi realm.
The world of decentralized finance is notorious for pushing Ethereum’s transaction throughput to the limit, which brought transaction fees to levels and rendered small-scale Ethereum transactions unviable. Now, as the crypto sector is eagerly waiting for ETH 2.0, the question of whether or not the Ethereum ecosystem will prevail in the bearish market remains, especially after Terra (LUNA) plummeted to oblivion.
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