Ethereum is another step closer to The Merge, with the network moving from Proof-of-Work to Proof-of-Stake.
The Beacon Chain for the Sepolia testnet is live and ready to practice The Merge for the second time. The idea is to use these exercises to give developers an idea of the problems that are currently still in the code.
No date set yet
Sepolia was launched in October 2021 and should replace the Ropsten testnet. Ropsten was launched back in 2016, making it Ethereum’s longest-running testnet. The first exercise for The Merge took place on the Ropsten testnet on June 8 last. So now it’s Sepolia’s turn and all developers have already been called upon to move their work from Ropsten to Sepolia.
It is not yet clear when the practice merge on Sepolia will take place. Also, the official date for The Merge with the Ethereum mainnet has not yet been set. The goal is to switch the network to Proof-of-Stake by August 2022, but there is still a chance of slowing down. This has to do with postponing the so-called difficulty bomb, which should make mining so difficult that the Proof-of-Work network comes to a standstill.
Ethereum and Procrastination
Bitcoin Maximalist Marty Bent Has Been On Twitter Since August 2017 a thread in which he shares updates on the postponement of The Merge. It is therefore questionable to what extent the Ethereum developers will succeed in fulfilling the promise of August 2022. What may help is that the market is currently being hit hard and the focus is no longer on the price for a while.
What you often see is that projects make great strides during bear markets. In that regard, this is a great opportunity for the Ethereum team to turn the head down and get to work. The transition from Ethereum to Proof-of-Stake is particularly interesting because it represents the first major test for the consensus mechanism. So for now we have to wait for good news.