An upcoming major story in the crypto world is the Ethereum Merge, which is scheduled to take place soon, with a target date of September 19th. Prior to that, there will be further tests to ensure that everything works, and all things considered, the changeover will be coming this year.
A caveat must be added though, that the Merge has been in the pipeline for a long time now, and repeatedly shunted back. Tellingly, such delays (the last of which occurred earlier this year) are not greeted in the crypto community with disappointment, but rather, with resigned expectation.
However, while it would be no surprise if the Merge again fails to go ahead, one imagines that each time it’s postponed, it becomes more likely to function correctly the next time, and so we may actually achieve transition this September.
What Is the Merge?
As a brief recap, the Merge is the next stage in Ethereum’s development, when it will switch from a proof-of-work blockchain, to a proof-of-stake blockchain. The purpose of changing to proof-of-stake is that it enables Ethereum to begin the process of scaling, so that it can deliver faster speeds, higher volumes and lower costs.
You will also see it stated that proof-of-stake is more energy efficient than proof-of-work. While it’s true that less energy is used through proof-of-stake, it’s debatable how important this is beyond a public relations level. It certainly, at least, allows Ethereum advocates to tick bureaucratically correct boxes during a politico-cultural milieu in which using energy is represented as destructive.
What Will the Merge Do?
If you’re hoping that post-Merge you will be spared Ethereum’s eccentrically high transaction costs, then think again, because it will not reduce gas fees. In fact, from the perspective of an average Ethereum user (no Ethereum users are actually average, of course) who is, for example, collecting and trading NFTs or utilizing DeFi, the user experience will, for the moment, continue as before.
However, the Merge sets a route for critical goals (reduced fees, scalability, a better user experience) to be achieved in future. In fact, the Merge is step one in preceding a series of changes referred to by the Chief Padre of Ethereum himself, Vitalik Buterin, as Surge, Verge, Purge and Splurge.
