- Ethereum has successfully transitioned from Proof-of-Work to Proof-of Stake
- The ‘merge’ took place at 07:40 GMT
- The next 13 days are crucial to confirm the Proof-of-Stake blockchain is working
Ethereum has officially moved from Proof-of-Work (PoW) to Proof-of-Stake (PoS) after a successful ‘merge’ this morning. More than four years after the plan was made concrete, the first PoS blocks were processed by Ethereum validators as the Ethereum community celebrated its achievement. The switch is not only great news for Ethereum but the entire crypto space, as there can now be no more accusations of NFTs ‘destroying the planet’ and other such nonsense.
Merge Recognised by Mainstream Media
The crypto world has been anticipating the ‘merge’ for some time now, with plenty of warnings over centralisation and premonitions of doom, forked coins and much more. The news has garnered mainstream media attention, and will for once put crypto in a good light, thanks to the energy saving nature of the shift to PoS.
The Ethereum Foundation put on a live stream with numerous developers to welcome the event, with plenty of nerves jangling following years of work to get to this point. When the moment came it was with a cry of “pandas!” as the last Ethereum block was mined:
we merged! pic.twitter.com/5wyOMZokam
— banteg (@bantg) September 15, 2022
Next 13 Days Crucial
The initial phase of the transition has gone off without a hitch, with the team saying in the live stream that the next 13 days are the most crucial. The Ethereum price didn’t react at all to the merge, although the excitement of the occasion seemed to get to some, with one transactor spending $60,000 on an Ethereum transaction fee after seemingly setting the max gas price to 420,000 instead of 420.
Ethereum co-creator Vitalik Buterin also celebrated the merge shortly after it happened:
And we finalized!
Happy merge all. This is a big moment for the Ethereum ecosystem. Everyone who helped make the merge happen should feel very proud today.
— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) September 15, 2022
Whether you are an Ethereum lover or an Ethereum hater, it can’t be ignored that this is both a seminal and impressive moment in crypto, and one that shields Ethereum from any potential proof-of-work bans that may well be on the cards in the coming years.
