The Merge is set to run through the third and last Ethereum public testnet, Goerli before the mainnet PoS transition happens. Goerli/Prater Merge will occur in August. Here, node operators need to update both their consensus and execution layer clients in tandem. Meanwhile, the Merge on the Ethereum mainnet is expected on September 19.
Goerli/Prater Merge Announced
The popular Ethereum blockchain is on course to transition from running a proof-of-work (PoW) consensus algorithm mechanism to proof-of-stake (PoS). It is said that this historic upgrade will make Ethereum a more scalable and mature blockchain.
While the Merge event on the Ethereum blockchain is scheduled for September, developers have been carrying out several final stage testings like shadow forks, devnets, and merges on deprecated public testnets to clear the path.
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So far, two public testnets (Sepolia and Ropsten) have successfully implemented the merge upgrade with one testnet left – Goerli. Goerli is associated with a Beacon Chain, Prater. After the Goerli/Prater merge will be the transitioning of the Ethereum mainnet to PoS.
Related: Ethereum Mainnet Shadow Fork 10 Done and Dusted in Preparation for the Merge in September
In a recent blog post, Ethereum developers have confirmed the exact date the Goerli/Prater testnet will run through the merge. The Goerli/Prater merge will happen between August 6-12, 2022 after the activation of Bellatrix and when Goerli hits a total difficulty of 10790000.
Per the announcement, Bellatrix is the Prater upgrade readying the testnet for The Merge. To note, the Prater upgrade (Bellatrix) is expected to happen on August 4, 2022, at epoch 112260.
It is worth noting that, Ethereum’s Proof-of-Stake network operates in epochs rather than blocks. In context, one epoch equals 32 blocks.
Therefore, the Goerli Merge will be a two-step process with the first stage being the Prater upgrade dubbed Bellatrix, on the consensus layer (CL).
The second step will be the transition of the execution layer (EL) from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake. This second network upgrade is nicknamed Paris.
Read Also: Vitalik Buterin: Ethereum (ETH) Will Be 55% Complete After The Merge and Process 100,000 TPS
Scalability In-View
The quest to improve the Ethereum blockchain, making it more scalable, mature, and cost-friendly began in December 2020 when the Beacon Chain was successfully launched.
While the current stage of the biggest upgrade (The Merge) on the Ethereum network is near execution, the final stage involving the introduction of sharding on the blockchain is planned for the second half of 2023.
Thereafter, the leading smart contract platform, Ethereum would have tackled its current scalability and high transaction fees problems. Meanwhile, miners would be replaced with validators as the PoS mechanism doesn’t support crypto mining.
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