On Friday (May 20), Ethereum Foundation co-founder Vitalik Buterin \u2014 who published the\u00a0original Ethereum white paper\u00a0(titled: \u201cEthereum White Paper: A next-generation smart contract and decentralized application platform\u201d)\u00a0in December 2013 \u2014 talked about Ethereum\u2019s upcoming move to a proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus mechanism.<\/p>\n
Here is how Ethereum Foundation explains The Merge:<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s important to remember that initially, the Beacon Chain shipped separately from Mainnet \u2013 the chain we use today. Ethereum Mainnet continues to be secured by proof-of-work, even while the Beacon Chain runs in parallel using proof-of-stake. The Merge is when these two systems finally come together.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cImagine Ethereum is a space ship that isn\u2019t quite ready for an interstellar voyage. With the Beacon Chain the community has built a new engine and a hardened hull. When it\u2019s time, the current ship will dock with this new system, merging into one ship, ready to put in some serious lightyears and take on the universe. <\/em><\/p>\n \u201cWhen ready, Ethereum Mainnet will \u2018merge\u2019 with the Beacon Chain, becoming its own shard which uses proof-of-stake instead of proof-of-work. Mainnet will bring the ability to run smart contracts into the proof-of-stake system, plus the full history and current state of Ethereum, to ensure that the transition is smooth for all ETH holders and users.<\/em>\u201c<\/p>\n And this is what Vitalik said about The Merge last Friday (May 20) at the (virtual) ETH Shanghai Web 3.0 Developer Summit:<\/p>\n \u201cThe biggest news in Ethereum this year, I think, is The Merge. So, The Merge is the switch from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake. We have been working on switching to proof-of-stake almost since the Ethereum project began. And we\u2019ve been working on proof-of-stake for about sevenyears now, but finally, all of that work is coming together. If everything goes well, then thelikely plan is for the The Merge to happen in the summer.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cI know Justin, a few days ago, suggested that August is a possible date for The Merge to happen. If there are no problems, then The Merge will happen in August. But of course, there\u2019s always a risk of problems. There\u2019s also risk of delays. And so, September is possible and October\u2019s maybe possible as well, but The Merge is at this point working, like it\u2019s very close to happening. So Ethereum will finally become a proof-of-stake network.<\/em>\u201c<\/p>\n Vitalik was referring to Ethereum Foundation research Justin Drake\u2019s comments at the Permissionless conference (which was held May 17-19, 2022 at Palm Beach, Florida).<\/p>\n Also, last Friday, Vitalik revealed that he is no longer a billionaire:<\/p>\n