NEW YORK, Dec 28 — Ethereum is heading into a new era as the foundation of the same name announces its public “Kintsugi merge testnet” and starts its extremely anticipated update. The transition from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake could create a shakeup either way for the second-largest cryptocurrency on the market.
Ethereum 2.0 is one of the most anticipated updates in the cryptocurrency community. Currently, Ethereum ranks second among virtual currencies , a solid second to the crypto king, Bitcoin, but its usefulness is not only monetary. Ethereum is also the most used blockchain for NFTs as well as for exchange platforms.
The main motivations behind a merger would then be to reduce transaction costs, reduce processing time during a transaction and finally to modify this auction system towards an automation of prices.To do this, Ethereum would move from mining blockchain and proof of work to proof of stake. In other words, the proof of work was based on solving difficult calculations and therefore power in order to successfully validate the blocks.
Thanks to its Kintsugi test network to enable the merge, Ethereum allows decentralised application developers or users to familiarise themselves with the upcoming ethereum environment. This test phase will allow potential problems of the system to be identified and for a maximum of them to be solved before the real deployment, planned for early 2022. The success of this transition will determine the future of Ethereum as a cryptocurrency. The community and experts are divided on the subject.
However, Ethereum still looks to have a bright future ahead and its dominant position in several markets, such as DApps or NFTs, could allow it to resist and grow. With a creative and nearly limitless potential for Ethereum to evolve, all eyes are on this cryptocurrency. — ETX Studio