Ethereum's long-awaited "The Merge" has been completed, resulting in a reduction in its energy consumption.
At 7:45 a.m. BST on Thursday, Ethereum completed what has been dubbed “The Merge.” In doing so, the world’s second-largest crypto’s energy consumption was reduced by more than 99 percent in an instant.
"After the release of the bitcoin whitepaper, the Ethereum merge is the most consequential event in crypto history," Erik Voorhees , founder of the popular crypto platform ShapeShift , wrote on Twitter .
The Ethereum involved a complex network transition from proof-of-work – a technology pioneered by bitcoin – to proof-of-stake, meaning that vast computing power is no longer required to support transactions and mint new units of the crypto.
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Before the Merge, Ethereum's electricity requirements were equivalent to that of a small country, leading to environmental concerns about its partial reliance on fossil fuels to support its network.
Crypto advocates are now hoping that Ethereum will face fewer regulatory challenges and wider adoption as the problem shifts away from its environmental impact.
“The Merge is a significant step forward that brings Ethereum into the mainstream and marks an evolution of blockchain,” said Gilbert Verdian, CEO of blockchain company Quant.
“A smaller carbon footprint has long been an industry goal… Now that this is happening, we will see more institutional adoption where Financial Services turn to decentralized infrastructure. It can offer secure transaction processing at a fraction of the cost, compared to the enormous cost and burden of today’s infrastructure.”
In the hours before the change, the price of Ethereum (ETH) remained stable as major exchanges temporarily suspended deposits and withdrawals of the crypto.
Other top cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin (BTC) and Cardano (ADA) also saw little price movement, with the overall crypto market changing less than 1 percent.
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This was followed by a significant price drop on Wednesday, which wiped nearly $100 billion in value from the market and pushed it below $1 trillion amid concerns that there may be problems with Ethereum's Merge
No major issues emerged, although developers are continuing to evaluate whether all aspects of the event occurred as expected.
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin said earlier this year that the merger was just one part of a multi-pronged plan to transform the cryptocurrency, with the next steps being referred to as “the Surge, the Verge, the Purge, and the Splurge.” All of them are aimed at making Ethereum’s new proof-of-stake blockchain more scalable and secure
Source: independent.co.uk
