The Merge is Close
If you will make transactions involving Ethereum in the nearest future, then you need to know about this.
Ethereum is the blockchain technology that produces Ether (ETH) which is widely known and used for global payments. When initiating transactions involving Ethereum, the Proof of Work (POW) process ensures that crucial details such as transaction order and account balance are accurate to avoid any errors that could lead to loss of coins or fraud. However, Proof of Work involves mining which is energy-intensive, and the need for its elimination birthed the Proof of Stake process.
The Merge refers to joining the Proof of Work and Proof of Stake to make the Ethereum technology less energy intensive, reducing energy consumption by 99.95% and improving scalability for the blockchain. The Proof of Stake entails users also known as validators will put cryptocurrency that they own on a line after which they are chosen at random to verify any new information that is added to a block. Once they confirm that the information is correct, they receive cryptocurrency but if it is incorrect, they lose their stake.
There have been concerns within the Ethereum community about potential disruption within the blockchain when The Merge happens. Ethereum reaffirmed that there would be no disruption, using an analogy where Ethereum is a spaceship in motion for which a new engine has been created. Sufficient testing has been carried out and the new engine can now be swapped for the old one mid-flight.
Some expected changes that will occur after The Merge happens are that mining will no longer take place during the Proof of Work process. New transactions will be verified through the validators in the Proof of Stake procedure. The new cryptocurrency will no longer be in circulation at random because the mining reward which allows that will no longer exist.
Another expected change following The Merge is that Sharding which splits validation processes into bits and allows transactions on the Ethereum blockchain to be done on smartphones will be available.
Ethereum has confirmed that transaction speed and gas fee will remain unchanged. The exact date on which The Merge will happen is unconfirmed but September 19th, 2022 is the widely circulated target date.
The Merge is close.
