Ethereum developers and holders alike are preparing for the long-awaited, and much delayed, Constantinople upgrade, which is finally due to commence tomorrow or Thursday when block 7,280,000 is mined. The upgrade, referred to as a hard fork by some even though it doesn’t meet the criteria and will not result in a chain split, will see network efficiency enhancements implemented and changes to the mining process, as Ethereum moves from a Proof-of-Work (PoW) to a Proof-of-Stake (PoS) system.
A Long Time Coming
Constantinople was originally slated to go live towards the end of 2018, but consensus issues with the Ropsten testnet resulted in it being delayed until early 2019. A development meeting in mid-December set a January launch date, but with 48 hours to go a critical security flaw was detected by blockchain research group ChainSecurity, which delayed the upgrade yet again. Now, with roughly the same time frame to go until it goes live, the thrusters are firing up again ahead of the anticipated takeoff. February has seen incredible price action on Ethereum, peaking last weekend at $160, a 50% rise in the month, potentially as a result of the imminent upgrade.
Constantinople seems to be the FA aiding this latest push from $ETH. Can’t ignore that volume, don’t think she is done yet either!
Looks like about half of you were right lol pic.twitter.com/G9gfEiiLDY
— Bravado® (@BitcoinBravado) February 18, 2019
Out With Proof-of-Work, In With Proof-of-Stake
As well as implementing changes that will allow the network to run faster while keeping ‘gas’ prices low, the most transformative aspect of the upgrade involves the mining process. The Constantinople upgrade is being performed in the main to begin the PoW-PoS transition and will reduce miner rewards as a result, also delaying the Ethereum ‘Difficulty Bomb’ for about twelve months. This term refers to the increase in difficulty which will be introduced to the PoW algorithm as the switch to PoS begins, designed to disincentivize miners who seek to take advantage of the reduced mining competition during the switch.
Should the upgrade go ahead as planned, all those behind the project will no doubt be feeling more relief than joy given the numerous problems the upgrade has encountered. To check the status of the upgrade, check out this handy countdown clock, and prepare the champagne!
