Affected by the de-anchoring of stETH and ETH, the closing of deposits and withdrawals by Celsius, and the liquidation of assets on the Three Arrows Capital chain, the current price of Ethereum Development has shown a continuous downward trend. Ethereum 2.0 mergers have been delayed repeatedly. Before the formal merger, this article will take you through a comprehensive understanding of merger related concepts.

What is a merger?

This will mark the end of Ethereum’s proof-of-work and the full transition to proof-of-stake.

This was the plan before the launch of the shard chain.

The Merge aims to transform the Ethereum blockchain from the current proof-of-work (PoW: proof-of-work) consensus mechanism to a faster, more secure and more energy efficient proof-of-stake (PoS: proof- of-stake). This upgrade represents a formal shift to PoS consensus. Eliminates the need for energy-intensive mining and instead uses staked ether to secure the network. This is a truly exciting step towards realizing the vision of Ethereum — more scalability, security and sustainability.

What is the role of the beacon chain?

Beacon Chain brings Proof of Stake to the Ethereum ecosystem.

The beacon chain will coordinate the network and act as a consensus layer.

The Beacon Chain is an important precursor to upcoming scaling upgrades such as sharding.

The Beacon Chain is the ledger of accounts that manages and coordinates the staker network. It’s not quite like the Ethereum mainnet today. It is a new consensus engine (or “consensus layer”) that will soon replace PoW, bringing many major improvements. The role of the beacon chain will change over time, but it is a fundamental component of Ethereum that enables security, greenness, and scalability.

Introduce staking

Beacon Chain brings Proof of Stake to Ethereum. This is a new way to help keep Ethereum safe. Think of it as a public good that will make Ethereum healthier and earn you more ETH in the process.

The end of merging and mining

While the beacon chain (or “consensus layer”) existed from the beginning as a separate chain from the mainnet (or “execution layer”). The plan is to replace the current PoW proof-of-work algorithm at the execution layer and use the PoS proof-of-stake consensus protocol provided by the beacon chain. This process is called “merging”. The merger will have an immediate and far-reaching impact on the carbon footprint of the Ethereum network. It also sets the stage for future scalability upgrades such as sharding.

Mainnet Merge

Once ready, the Ethereum mainnet will “merge” with the beacon chain and become its own shard, using proof-of-stake instead of proof-of-work. The mainnet will bring the proof-of-stake system the ability to run smart contracts, coupled with the full history and current state of Ethereum to ensure a smooth transition for all Ethereum holders and users.

After the merger

This will mark the end of Ethereum PoW and usher in a more sustainable, greener era of Ethereum. At this point, Nft development Ethereum will be closer to achieving the full scalability, security, and sustainability described in its Ethereum vision. Essentially, the goal of the merger is to speed up the process from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake.

Relationship between upgrades

Ethereum upgrades are all interconnected.

Beacon Chain and Merge

First, the beacon chain exists separately from the Ethereum mainnet we use today. But eventually they will connect. The plan is to “merge” the mainnet into a proof-of-stake system controlled and coordinated by the beacon chain.

Sharding and the beacon chain

Sharding can safely enter the Ethereum ecosystem only if the proof-of-stake consensus mechanism is in place. The Beacon Chain introduces staking, which, when “merged” with the mainnet, will pave the way for sharding and help Ethereum scale further.