As revealed on Beaconcha.in, an open source Ethereum explorer, the number of total node validators on the blockchain network has set a new record barely two weeks after the Merge upgrade was executed on the Ethereum (ETH) blockchain. 

According to data collected by TimesTabloid, the total number of active validators on the Ethereum (ETH) network is 436, 721 while there are only 110 pending node validators on the network. These figures are valid as of September 28, at the time of writing. 

Read Also: Ethereum’s Vitalik Buterin Discusses the Potential of Layer-3 Protocols

Recall that, Vitalik Buterin and the Ethereum Foundation finally activated the biggest and most complex upgrade in the history of the blockchain platform on September 15. This development transformed the second-largest crypto project as well as the first smart contract blockchain into an ecologically friendly and less energy-intensive platform. 

Likewise, interest in Ethereum staking is growing rapidly among crypto investors and institutions following the emergence of Ethereum 2.0 where staking replaced mining. Data from the same tracking platform showed that staked ETH is growing simultaneously with total node validators. At the time of writing, the number of Ethereum staked is 13,976,072 ETH. 

It is worth noting that several top crypto exchanges like Coinbase and financial institutions including SEBA Bank rolled out Ethereum staking services for their institutional clients. Meanwhile, in a recent statement, SEC Chair Gary Gensler noted that the PoS system currently powering the Ether token could trigger securities laws. 

Related: Popular Swiss Bank Enables Ethereum (ETH) Staking for Institutional Clients: Details

According to the SEC’s statement, “Cryptocurrencies and intermediaries that allow holders to “stake” their coins might pass a key test used by courts to determine whether an asset is a security. Known as the Howey test, it examines whether investors expect to earn a return from the work of third parties.”

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse later slammed the SEC for the assertion regarding Ethereum (ETH) mentioning that he holds ETH, XRP, and BTC.

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While the Merge is expected to occur within September 13-15, according to Vitalik Buterin, Google has added a countdown feature to enable users to track the execution of the upgrade. Google Cloud developer, Sam Padilla, stated in a tweet that everyone is excited about the many benefits Ethereum blockchain has brought to the crypto industry. 

He tweeted, “hey Vitalik Buterin, Justin Drake, and other Ethereum folks, go google “the merge” for a fun little surprise & appreciation. Everyone is so excited for what is coming and appreciative of the work that has been going into this for years.”

Hey @VitalikButerin @drakefjustin & other @ethereum folks, go google "the merge" for a fun little surprise & appreciation.

Everyone is so excited for what is coming and appreciative of the work that has been going into this for years. pic.twitter.com/3bgifV6Ywn

— Sam Padilla (@theSamPadilla) September 9, 2022

Read Also: Bellatrix, the Final Upgrade Ahead of Ethereum the Merge Is Officially Activated

Google Adds Merge Countdown

Ethereum (ETH) Merge is set to transition the largest smart contract platform to proof-of-stake (PoS). Particularly, the Merge will reduce Ethereum’s energy consumption by approximately 99.95%. 

To show support for the upcoming upgrade, Google has added a feature that shows a countdown for the Merge event. To track the forthcoming upgrade via Google, you can either type the words ‘Ethereum Merge’ or ‘The Merge’ on Google’s search bar. A real-time countdown then appears and is estimated based on difficulty and hash rate. 

Read More: “There’s a Higher Potential For A Sell-The-News Event Going Into The Merge,” Top Analyst Says

At the time of writing, Google shows that Ethereum (ETH) merge is set to happen in 2 days 9 hrs 52 mins. It also showed the current difficulty of 58567730 P, hashrate of 857 TH/s while the Merge Difficulty is 58750000 P, at press time.

Meanwhile, the final upgrade before the merge, Bellatrix was officially activated on September 6. While several top exchanges have announced support for the planned development, a top bank in Switzerland SEBA Bank has launched Ethereum staking for institutional clients.

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The new development was shared on Twitter by Terence Tsao, a Prysmatic Labs developer, a few hours ago. The success of the Bellatrix upgrade implies that all is now set for the transition of the Ethereum network to the proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus mechanism.

Read Also: Upgrade Your Clients Before September 6,” Ethereum’s Vitalik Buterin Urges Node Operators

Terence Tsao tweeted, “Bellatrix activated! Next stop: the merge See you on the other side.”

Bellatrix activated!
Next stop: the merge
See you on the other side pic.twitter.com/01FCSDyqs5

— terence.eth (@terencechain) September 6, 2022

The success of the Bellatrix upgrade was also shared on Twitter by several other prominent Ethereum community members, including The Daily Gwei host Anthony Sassano.

Ethereum Merge Comes In Two Segments

It’s worth noting that Bellatrix is the first segment of Ethereum the Merge. It updates Beacon Chain, also known as Consensus Layer, in preparation for the Merge.

The second segment of the Merge, codenamed Paris, will make the Ethereum network start producing blocks under the PoS algorithm as soon as the Total Terminal Difficulty (TTD) hits 58750000000000000000000.

The Terminal Total Difficulty (TTD) can simply be described as the computing power required to complete the final block on the Ethereum blockchain before the Merge is implemented.

Read Also: Official Timetable of Ethereum The Merge Implementation Published

Due to the fact that TTD is affected by the network’s fluctuating hashrate, the actual date of the Merge can’t be determined at the moment. However, it’s been estimated to happen between Sep 13 and 15.

Vitalik Buterin Urges Node Operators to Upgrade Their Clients

In a tweet earlier today, Vitalik Buterin, the co-founder of Ethereum (ETH), confirmed that the Bellatrix upgrade will complete today. He thereby urged the node operators to upgrade their clients in order to be fully ready for the event.

Buterin also confirmed that the Merge is expected to play out between September 13 and 15.

Vitalik Buterin tweeted, “The merge is still expected to happen around Sep 13-15. What’s happening today is the Bellatrix hard fork, which *prepares* the chain for the merge. Still important though – make sure to update your clients!”

The merge is still expected to happen around Sep 13-15. What's happening today is the Bellatrix hard fork, which *prepares* the chain for the merge. Still important though – make sure to update your clients!

— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) September 6, 2022

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Brian Kelly, a top crypto analyst at CNBC Television and contributor on the TV’s Fast Money show, noted in a discussion session that Bitcoin (BTC) isn’t a tech stock but rather a digital gold. According to him, Bitcoin is highly needed especially when a country destroys its currency as some governments are currently doing. 

According to the televangelist, “Ethereum (ETH) on the other hand can somewhat be thought of as a tech stock because it is going to disrupt a lot of what tech stocks are doing today and to the extent that it takes daily active users away from places like Twitter, Facebook, and Google.”

“I do think that there’s something to be said about Ethereum (ETH) being a tech stock,” Brian Kelly added. While Bitcoin (BTC) recently fell below the $20,000 mark, he mentioned that crypto has not yet bottomed out. 

Read Also: Ethereum (ETH) Miners Recorded $733 Million in Revenue in August 2022

Ethereum (ETH) Merge Impact Weighed

The much-anticipated Merge upgrade is around the corner as it will be happening this September 2022. Investors could be taking advantage of the market downturn to accumulate more ether tokens with the hope that it would record a massive price rally after the Merge.

In the recent episode of CNBC’s Fast Money show, Brian Kelly shared a few possible outcomes regarding the Merge upgrade that seeks to transition Ethereum (ETH) to the proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus algorithm. He stressed that there is a higher potential for a sell-the-news circumstance to play out going into the merge. 

Read Also: Ethereum’s Vitalik Buterin To Release a Book Titled “Proof of Stake” in September

In his words, “I think it’s probably more ‘sell the news,’ which is maybe not that intuitive because in crypto you generally want to buy the news. But everybody has been buying Ethereum because they’re going into this merge and now you’re going to get a so-called yield.”

“Just so you know, it’s not really a yield. You’re just getting your inflation rewards back, so it’s kind of offsetting the inflation in the currency. It’s not really a yield,” he added

In addition, the CNBC contributor remarked that a technical glitch could occur in the process of executing the major upgrade. “I think that there’s more risk to the Ethereum merge than people are giving credit for,” he stated. 

Meanwhile, ETH mining will be disabled on the largest smart contract platform putting an end to miners’ top financial opportunity after the Merge.

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On-chain data reveals that Ethereum Miner Revenue for the month of August 2022 touched the $733.88 million mark. Whereas in July 2022, Ethereum miners made profits that only totaled $620.65 million.

Miners earn rewards by producing valid blocks as well as by processing transactions on the Ethereum blockchain and their rewards are usually paid in ETH.  

It is worth noting that monthly total miner revenue puts into consideration block subsidy or inflation rewards, transaction (gas) fees as well as Uncle rewards. 

Uncle block rewards on the Ethereum network are rewards awarded to miners for the creation of an uncle block included in a valid block added to the chain. It is similar to stale blocks on the Bitcoin (BTC) network. 

Inflation rewards contributed the largest to the $733.88 million profits recorded by ETH miners in August 2022. While $678.69 came from inflation rewards, $29.67 was derived from Uncle rewards while revenue made by ETH miners from transaction fees reached $25.52. 

So far, the highest revenue ($1.47 billion) made by Ethereum miners this year was spotted in January 2022. Since then, monthly revenue has been declining. 

Read Also: Upgrade Your Clients Before September 6,” Ethereum’s Vitalik Buterin Urges Node Operators

The Merge Will Cancel ETH Mining

While the upcoming Merge upgrade on the Ethereum blockchain is designed to make the biggest smart contract platform more scalable, less energy intensive, and complete; it will bring an end to miners’ financial activity. 

Post-merge, mining will no longer be supported on the Ethereum blockchain. The Merge is an upgrade that will transition the popular blockchain to operate using the proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus algorithm mechanism. 

Read Also: Ethereum’s Vitalik Buterin To Release a Book Titled “Proof of Stake” in September

Whereas proof-of-work supports token mining, proof-of-stake involves staking as the name implies.  

In a bid to keep Ethereum mining alive, Chandler Guo, a popular cryptocurrency miner, and other miners announced their plan to execute a post-Merge Ethereum hardfork that will give rise to another platform dubbed Ethereum POW (ETHPoW). 

In response to this plan, Vitalik Buterin, the creator of Ethereum noted that the planned miner-led hardfork will not succeed nor gain substantial adoption

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As earlier announced, the Bellatrix upgrade is scheduled for epoch 144896 on the Beacon Chain on September 6, 2022. Whereas the TTD value triggering The Merge is 58750000000000000000000 and is expected between September 10 and 20, 2022. 

To this end, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has emphasized to node operators the need to upgrade their clients before the Bellatrix upgrade takes place. In a Tuesday tweet, he reminded node operators to upgrade and make their nodes merge-ready before September 6. Node operators who fail to do so would encounter corresponding errors. 

“Reminder: even though the merge is coming around Sep 10-20, the beacon chain hard fork is on Sep 6. Make sure to update your clients before then,” Vitalik Buterin replied to the Merge announcement Twitter post shared on Monday. 

Reminder: even though the merge is coming around Sep 10-20, the beacon chain hard fork is on Sep 6. Make sure to update your clients before then! https://t.co/x8GQCbtNNk

— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) August 30, 2022

Read Also: Ethereum Merge: Teku Releases New Version To Make Mainnet Nodes Merge Ready

The Merge is Close

The Merge upgrade is considered one of the most popular and highly anticipated 2022 events in the crypto industry. Ethereum blockchain, which went live in 2015, was created to operate using the proof-of-work (PoW) consensus algorithm.

Due to the setbacks associated with proof-of-work (PoW), a switch to proof-of-stake (PoS) was considered by the founders of the largest smart contract platform, Ethereum (ETH). This transition is expected to make the blockchain more scalable and complete. 

Read Also: Over 13.3 Million ETH Now Staked in Ethereum 2.0 Contract as The Merge Nears

In December 2020, Ethereum began its proof-of-stake transition journey when the PoS-based Beacon Chain was launched. From the roadmap, the Merge upgrade was positioned as the second phase of the consensus algorithm shift. 

After years of strategizing, building, and testing, the Merge is finally set to take place. It is an upgrade where Ethereum 1.0, the Execution Layer, will be merged with Ethereum 2.0 known as the Consensus Layer.

The Merge is designed to mark the end of PoW on the Ethereum blockchain while it will usher in the proof-of-stake mechanism. In other words, Ethereum (ETH) mining will be disabled as staking becomes the new order after the Merge.

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In a new blog post published a couple of hours ago, the Protocol Support Team stated that The Merge will happen in a two-step process.

The first is a network upgrade, Bellatrix, on the consensus layer triggered by an epoch height, followed by the execution layer’s transition from proof-of-work (PoW) to proof-of-stake (PoS). According to the post, the second step of the process will be triggered by a specific Total Difficulty threshold referred to as the Terminal Total Difficulty (TTD).

Read Also: First-Ever Mainnet Shadow Fork Plays Out on Ethereum (ETH): The Merge Is Almost Here

The Bellatrix upgrade is slated for epoch 144896 on the Beacon Chain. This will happen at exactly 11:34:47am UTC on Sept 6, 2022.

It’s stated in the blog post that the execution layer’s portion of the transition, which is also known as Paris, will be triggered by the Terminal Total Difficulty (TTD) of 58750000000000000000000. This is expected to play out between September 10 and 20, 2022. The exact date at which TTD is reached will be determined by the proof-of-work hash rate.

The blog post reads in part:

“Once the execution layer reaches or exceeds the TTD, the subsequent block will be produced by a Beacon Chain validator. The Merge transition is considered complete once the Beacon Chain finalizes this block. Under normal network conditions, this will happen 2 epochs (or ~13 minutes) after the first post-TTD block is produced!”

Read Also: Ethereum Launches First-Ever Public Testnet for Full Upgrade to Proof of Stake Known as “The Merge”

In a simple term, Terminal total difficulty (TTD) is the computing power required to complete the final block on the Ethereum blockchain before the much-awaited transition to ETH 2.0.

Although a tentative date was released a couple of days ago, the newly published timetable makes it certain that the Merge is happening in September.

It should be noted that the Merge is not the last in the Ethereum development roadmap. It’s only coming to set the stage for future upgrades.

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Data on the Oklink platform reveals that the number of locked ETH for Ethereum 2.0 has been rising steadily since 1st August. Meanwhile, the upgrade which will make Ethereum PoS-based is planned for September 16th. 

At the time of writing, ETH pledged in the Ethereum 2.0 deposit contract is at an all-time value of 13,343,768 ETH. Statistics on the OKLink website further show that around 36,000 ether coins are being staked every week since early August. Accordingly, 153,000 ETH have been staked by validators so far this August. 

It is worth noting that individuals are only allowed to trade, send and sell their staked Ethereum coins. Withdrawal of staked ETH is said to be enabled after The Merge. 

Related: Is The Merge Coming To Reduce Gas Fees? Ethereum Foundation Clarifies

The Merge Nears

The Merge upgrade is designed to usher in the proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus mechanism on the largest smart contracts blockchain, Ethereum. In line with this, many top crypto exchanges such as Binance exchange, Gemini, and Coinbase have enabled Ethereum staking. 

Following the introduction of Ethereum staking on Coinbase in early August, JPMorgan, an American multinational investment bank and a global leader in financial services, commented that the top crypto exchange will be a meaningful beneficiary of the Ethereum Merge upgrade. 

Post-Merge, JPMorgan predicted that Coinbase can realize over $650 million in yearly ETH staking income if Ethereum (ETH) trades around $2000 with a 5% yield rate. 

On the whole, staking entails the activation of a validator software by depositing 32 ETH. Validators are responsible for storing data on the blockchain, adding new blocks, and processing transactions. 

Staking further helps to keep the Ethereum network secure. However, this concept is supported by the proof-of-stake consensus algorithm which the Merge upgrade will bring to the Ethereum blockchain.

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According to a note sent to clients by JPMorgan, the Ethereum transition to proof-of-stake (PoS) will usher in a “bigger revenue opportunity” for the digital assets exchange, Coinbase.

This statement stems from the fact that the widely used crypto exchange recently introduced Ethereum (ETH) staking to institutional clients. The service was introduced by the exchange in early August.

Brian Armstrong, the CEO of Coinbase noted that Ethereum (ETH) staking will benefit the company’s business model. 

Kenneth Worthington, a financial analyst at JPMorgan investment bank wrote in the note to clients; “we see Coinbase as a meaningful beneficiary of the Ethereum Merge. Coinbase is bigger in Ethereum than was intuitive to us, thus leading directly to a bigger revenue opportunity.”

“We believe that Coinbase has taken a series of steps to maximize the Ethereum staking revenue opportunity,” Worthington added. 

The bank further disclosed that Coinbase has a 15% market share in Ethereum (ETH) assets. According to Kenneth Worthington, Coinbase’s market share is tilted toward institutions other than retail customers.

This is so because institutions tend to hold more Ethereum (ETH) and Bitcoin (BTC), while retail customers may likely hold other highly speculative tokens. 

Post-Merge, JPMorgan forecasts that Coinbase can realize more than $650 million in annual ETH staking income if and only if Ethereum (ETH) trades around $2000 with a 5% yield rate. At press time, Ethereum (ETH) is trading for $1,833.65, according to Coinmarketcap data. 

Read Also: Vitalik Buterin Not Expecting the Planned Miner-led Ethereum Fork To Succeed, Warns Investors

Ethereum (ETH) Merge Approaches

Ethereum is set to undergo its biggest upgrade ever since the blockchain’s emergence in 2015 courtesy of Vitalik Buterin and other co-founders. The Merge scheduled for September 15, will transition the second-largest crypto blockchain and largest smart contract platform from a proof-of-work (PoW) consensus algorithm to proof-of-stake (PoS).

While PoS will make the Ethereum blockchain more scalable, less costly to use, and complete according to Vitalik Buterin, some players in the industry like Justin Sun, and the popular Chinese crypto miner, Chandler Guo believe that PoW is still essential in the industry. 

To this end, there is a plan to initiate a post-Merge Ethereum (ETH) fork to preserve PoW as well as miners’ financial activity. Nonetheless, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin noted that the planned “EthereumPOW” blockchain will not succeed nor gain substantial adoption.

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In a tweet a couple of hours ago, Terence Tsao, an Ethereum protocol developer, revealed that Mainnet Bellatrix fork is expected on the 6th of September 2022, at 11:34:47 AM (UTC).

Read Also: Vitalik Buterin: Ethereum’s The Merge Is Not Yet Priced In

Tsao tweeted, “Tentative Mainnet Bellatrix fork slot/time. Epoch: 144896 Time: 9/6/2022, 11:34:47 AM (UTC).”

It should be noted that Bellatrix is the consensus layer upgrade that prepares the Beacon Chain for the merge, since the Beacon Chain does not use blocks but slots.

In a follow-up tweet, Tsao said the major event, which is The Merge, is slated for 58750000000000000000000. This implies that the implementation of the merge may occur on the 15th or 16th of September 2022.

However, the Ethereum protocol developer warned that the dates estimated are not finalized yet. This means that unforeseen circumstances can still cause a change at the last minute.

Terence Tsao tweeted, “Tentative Mainnet TTD 58750000000000000000000. Note: nothing is final until it’s in client release, so do expect changes last minute due to unforeseen circumstances.”

Tentative Mainnet TTD

58750000000000000000000

Note: nothing is final until it's in client release, so do expect changes last minute due to unforeseen circumstances https://t.co/PQ0YOKpk1u

— terence.eth (@terencechain) August 11, 2022

Read Also: Ethereum’s The Merge Goes Live on Ropsten Test Network, Vitalik Buterin Reacts

Ethereum the Merge Final Testnet Launches

The much-awaited transition of the Ethereum blockchain from the proof-of-work (PoW) consensus algorithm to the proof-of-stake (PoS) mechanism received a massive boost on Thursday following the launch of Goerli, the Merge’s final testnet.

In an announcement, Marius VanDerWijden, a developer working on Go Ethereum, said there were issues along the way, but things are currently under control, which implies that the testnet is now working smoothly.

Marius VanDerWijden tweeted, “And we finalized on goerli. There was some confusion on the network because of two different terminal blocks and lots of non-updated nodes, so we didn’t finalize earlier. We’re still looking into whats happening, but so far it looks quite good.”

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