Tim Beiko – a computer scientist who coordinates Ethereum developers – reportedly said that the protocol’s much-anticipated transition from a proof of work mining model to proof of stake will probably be completed a few months after June.
Vitalik Buterin’s blockchain brainchild – Ethereum – is expected to switch from the PoW consensus mechanism, which requires a considerable amount of energy, to PoS this summer. Many consider the process, known as “The Merge,” as a stepping stone for the project’s future development.
One of Ethereum’s leading developers, Tim Beiko, though, believes the initiative might see the light of day later than most anticipate. Still, he outlined that the move is in its final stages:
“No firm date yet, but we’re definitely in the final chapter of PoW on Ethereum.”
It is worth noting that Beiko previously stated he wouldn’t be surprised if Ethereum 2.0 happens in the fall. Nonetheless, he did not provide a specific month or date.
For his part, Ethereum’s Founder – Vitalik Buterin – claimed that “The Merge” should occur before July of this year. Dates have been pushed forwards multiple times in the past, so it remains unclear whether one should rely on such forecasts.
The green focus is arguably the biggest advantage of the transition to the PoS mining model. Currently, Ethereum (like Bitcoin) employs a significant amount of energy to power its supercomputers, which in turn validate transactions and create new blocks.
According to the latest figures, the second-largest digital asset network uses more than 112 Terawatt-hours of electricity per year – more power than the countries of the Philippines or Belgium employ annually.
Moreover, an average Ethereum transaction requires around 268 kilowatt-hours of energy, the same amount that an ordinary American family consumes in 9 days.
Earlier this week, developers of the blockchain protocol passed a major test focused on its future transition by launching a mainnet “shadow fork” to check the upcoming software.
Parithosh Jayanthi – Ethereum Foundation Developer – said the fork adds merge related fields to the configuration of existing testnets:
“In doing so, we essentially inherit the state/txs of the canonical testnet.”
Van Der Wijden – another top developer of the blockchain protocol – described the launch of the ”shadow fork” as a “historical event.”