Goerli Testnet Merge Successful
The final test run for the Ethereum Merge has been successfully executed.
Key Takeaways
- Ethereum's Goerli testnet Merge has been successfully executed.
- The Goerli Merge represents the final "trial run" before the actual Merge, which is expected to take place in September.
- ETH was up almost 12% in the 24 hours leading up to the Goerli Merge.
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The Ethereum Foundation has successfully executed its Goerli testnet Merge.
Last Ethereum Testnet Merge
The final “trial run” for the Merge has been successfully completed.
The Goerli testnet merge was successfully executed today at around 1:45 AM UTC. The testnet Merge, which saw the Goerli testnet merge with the Prater testnet, a Proof-of-Stake beacon chain, represents the final test run before the actual Merge takes place. The Goerli/Prater merge took place when Goerli hit a total difficulty of 10,790,000.
A successful Goerli testnet Merge is the strongest signal yet that Ethereum’s long-awaited “Merge,” in which the current Proof-of-Work chain will “merge” with the Proof-of-Stake Beacon Chain and complete its transition to a Proof-of-Stake network, will indeed take place this fall. Ethereum Foundation member Tim Beiko suggested in last month’s Consensus Layer Call that the most likely date would be September 19.
The Merge has been called “the most significant upgrade in the history of Ethereum.” This advanced technical maneuver will see the current Proof-of-Work Ethereum Mainnet merge with the Proof-of-Stake Beacon Chain, which currently runs parallel to the Mainnet. Once the Merge has taken place, the Beacon Chain’s Proof-of-Stake mechanism will effectively take over as the network’s block production engine.
A successful Merge has important long-term implications for Ethereum, including a predicted 99.9% reduction in energy usage. It also paves the way for sharding, a scalability solution that involves breaking the network’s data into smaller, more manageable pieces.
The effect that the Merge will have on the market value of Ethereum is the subject of intense speculation. Vitalik Buterin said last month in an interview that the Merge was “not priced in” yet, and that the excitement around the narrative would likely gain traction after the Merge has taken place. Indeed, analysts at JPMorgan noted in a letter to clients Monday that the crypto market may have “found a floor,” thanks largely to the excitement surrounding anticipation of the Merge.
ETH was up 13% over 24 hours leading up to the test Merge and was trading at $1,907 at press time.
Disclosure: At the time of writing, the author of this piece owned ETH and several other cryptocurrencies.
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