On September 15, the Ethereum merge plans to stop using its mining hardware. A cold war between genuine fans of the old ethereum and advocates of the new ethereum is likely to develop due to the transition, which may destabilize some of the largest institutions in the sector. That is if it happens at all. If this happens, the carbon emissions from the whole Ethereum ecosystem should fall precipitously over night, leaving only Bitcoin as the only significant cryptocurrency based on the destructive proof-of-work methodology.

What Exactly Is Ethereum Merge?

According to the Ethereum Foundation’s technical explanation, the Merge refers to the merger of Ethereum’s existing execution layer (the Mainnet we use today) with its new proof-of-stake consensus layer, the Beacon Chain. This is what “Mainnet” refers to; it eliminates the need for energy-intensive mining and protects the network with staked ETH.

To celebrate the Merge, Ethereum Foundation is giving away 50,000 ETH! 🎉

First come, first served ➡️https://t.co/DpQ1tPjXce
You can participate apply once. Please hurry!#Ethereum #EthereumMerge #Ethereum

— vitalik.eth (@BRANDBRANDON_) September 13, 2022

This is being done to become more energy-efficient, but it will also become more secure and scalable in the process. This is the primary reason for doing the action. Ethereum Merge intends to overcome one of Ethereum’s most challenging problems. Since it is most popular among developers who create dApps, smart contracts, and DeFi protocols, it has been plagued by network congestion and transaction cost difficulties. Due to the rising interest in decentralized banking, Ethereum’s transaction speeds and gas costs are much slower than its nearest competitors. However, moving the second-largest blockchain from one system to another is a complex and multi-step process.

Each choice requires consideration and research. Consequently, this has been under development for an extended period, and it is uncertain when the final version will be posted on the mainnet. Nonetheless, this new Ethereum Merge Update aims to fix a sizeable portion of these issues, which will not only keep the network ahead of its competition but also reward individuals who have joined them on their journey and put significant value on Ethereum 2.0.

Also read: Will the Ethereum Merge put other cryptocurrencies at risk?

What Are The Benefits Of The Merger?

1. Proof of Stake is a more efficient consensus technique in terms of the network’s logic; hence the shift from Proof of Work to Proof of Stake will benefit the Ethereum ecosystem.

2. This transition from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake would reduce Ethereum’s energy consumption by 99.95 per cent, making it one of the most revolutionary changes in the cryptocurrency industry.

3. Sharding prepares the Ethereum ecosystem for the future by laying the groundwork for upcoming scaling improvements. As the environment and market for cryptocurrencies continue to expand over time, additional changes will become required.

4. The successful completion of the Ethereum Merge would also bring about a fundamental transformation in the system’s functioning, opening the door to many potential use cases in the sector and driving the cryptocurrency king’s investment story ahead. Case study and reason for investment:

What kinds of changes might we expect after the merger?

Following the completion of the Merge, the Sharding procedure will proceed. In essence, this technique will help prepare the network for Ethereum 2.0’s Shard chains, whose operation will depend on a well-functioning PoS network. These shard chains will give applications and rollups with extra data storage layers at a lower cost. This will be accomplished by distributing network load among 64 blockchains. They also allow layer two systems to provide minimal transaction costs while benefitting from the security of the Ethereum mainnet. Therefore, The Merge is the first five development stages forming the Ethereum network. Vitalik Buterin, one of Ethereum’s co-founders, assigned the titles “The Merge,” “The Surge,” “The Verge,” and “The Purge,” with “The Splurge” serving as the last phase.