- Ethereum EIP-1559 will likely take place on August 4 at block 12,965,000
- The controversial upgrade, part of the London upgrade, redefines the tokenomics of the Ethereum model
- Miners might still mine the old Ethereum, much as some mined Ethereum Classic after the 2016 hard fork
Ethereum’s much anticipated EIP-1559 upgrade should arrive in early August after a block was proposed by a key Ethereum developer. Tim Beiko officially proposed block 12,965,000 as the point where the London upgrade will take effect, due around August 4, ushering in a new era for Ethereum and blockchain technology in general. EIP-1559 will see sweeping changes to how Ethereum miners are rewarded in advance of the shift to a proof-of-stake consensus mechanism.
Yep, unless someone objects in the next 24h, London should land on August 4th.
A few client teams have “👍’d” it already, but we want to be sure no one has a serious objection.
Keep an eye out 👀 https://t.co/KWRCvyrWR1
— Tim Beiko | timbeiko.eth 🦇🔊 (@TimBeiko) July 6, 2021
EIP-1559 Abolishes Traditional Miner Reward System
EIP-1559 is part of a wider upgrade, codenamed London, that upends the usual way in which Ethereum miners are rewarded for adding blocks to the blockchain. The Ethereum transaction fee, or ‘gas fee’, is currently adjustable depending how quickly you want your transaction pushed through. The ludicrously high rates, which hit three figures earlier in the year, have seen the platform come in for heavy criticism and prompted a rethink.
EIP-1559 will see a fair ‘basefee’ being algorithmically levied and sent to the network to be burnt, with an optional ‘tip’ able to be sent to miners. As a result, gas fees will be cheaper and there will be no more gas wars when the network gets congested, although the tipping system will allow those in a hurry to get their transaction through quicker.
Ethereum Miners Have Accepted Upgrade
Miners have been understandably unhappy about this development, but it seems like most have accepted the upgrade as an inevitability. Any Ethereum miners still mining the old coin after the EIP-1559 upgrade on August 4 will be mining the old Ethereum, much in the same way as Ethereum Classic miners did after the first hard fork in 2016, which will be a less profitable venture that will probably die out in time.
