Ethereum Merge

Ethereum is the most valuable smart chain network in the world, and Ether (ETH) is the second most valuable crypto currency in existence. It is switching from proof-of-work (like Bitcoin) to proof-of-stake. This will reduce the amount of electricity required, remove the miners, replace the miners with validators, and will likely make ETH deflationary (meaning more burnt than created on each block). Validators need to hold 32 ETH to be able to validate transactions as correct, and these validators can lose collateral if they behave badly. This is the incentive to be a good actor and approve transactions.

Now that we have proof of stake on ETH, what will the future be regarding the old chain? Will ETHW thrive? Will anyone care? Don’t forget we have Ethereum Classic (ETC) that is the original fork of the Ethereum chain after a hack. Gas fees will not be affected by the Merge and transactions will be around the same speed. The energy consumption will be reduced by 99.5% according to most, which could affect the worldwide energy usage by the amount of energy used in the Netherlands approximately.

Some of the miners are trying to pull an Ethereum Classic by cloning the main blockchain and continuing the proof-of-work consensus method. Let’s see how this chain works out. I will likely be only using the updated proof-of-stake official chain.

Many people are curious about the price action of ETH after the merge. My opinion is that it will increase after the inevitable dip based on the macro economic issues we are facing due to the federal reserve and the money creation that happened in 2020 and 2021. What a time to be alive.