The Merge

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The Merge refers to the highly anticipated upgrade to the Ethereum blockchain that officially transitioned its consensus mechanism from Proof-of-Work (PoW) to Proof-of-Stake (PoS). This significant event occurred on September 15, 2022, marking an important point in Ethereum’s roadmap, previously known as part of the “Serenity” or “Eth2” upgrades.

Before The Merge, Ethereum, like Bitcoin, relied on energy-intensive mining (PoW) to validate transactions and secure its network. With the transition to PoS, the network is now secured by validators who “stake” their Ether (ETH) as collateral to propose and attest to new blocks. 

This change dramatically reduced Ethereum’s energy consumption by an estimated 99.95%, making it significantly more sustainable. The Merge involved fusing the original Ethereum mainnet (Execution Layer) with the new PoS consensus layer, known as the Beacon Chain. This upgrade was a complex technical feat aimed at enhancing Ethereum’s security, scalability (paving the way for future upgrades like sharding), and environmental friendliness, without interrupting the network’s operation or the vast ecosystem of applications built upon it.

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