Ethereum Completes Merge to Proof-of-Stake, Boosts Energy Efficiency
The Ethereum network has successfully completed its transition to proof-of-stake (PoS) with the Merge, marking a historic day for the crypto space. On September 15 at 06:44 UTC, the Merge saw the merging of the Ethereum Mainnet execution layer and the Beacon Chain's consensus layer at the Terminal Total Difficulty of 58750000000000000000000, signaling the end of the network's reliance on proof-of-work consensus.
The Ethereum Foundation estimates that the Merge will make the Ethereum network about 99.95% more energy efficient and sets the stage for future scaling solutions, including sharding. StarkWare President and co-founder Eli Ben-Sasson emphasized the Merge's immediate importance in reducing energy consumption, stating that it will lead to 'exceedingly widespread adoption of Ethereum.'
The Merge is the first step in a multi-phase process, with the 'Surge,' 'Verge,' 'Purge,' and 'Splurge' phases to follow. These stages aim to increase scalability, achieve statelessness, eliminate historical data, and implement miscellaneous upgrades.