Bellatrix upgrade successfully activated on the Ethereum network

73% of nodes upgraded their software to the latest version on the eve of the launch

06.09.2022 - 14:55

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What’s new? Ethereum developers activated the Bellatrix upgrade, which was the last step before the core network switched to the Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus algorithm. The Merge is expected to be completed on September 15. 73% of Ethereum nodes upgraded their software to an up-to-date version prior to the launch of Bellatrix. Most of the nodes not ready for the upgraded Beacon Chain network are located on the popular Geth client.

Bellatrix activated! 🎉Next stop: the mergeSee you on the other side💫 pic.twitter.com/01FCSDyqs5— terence.eth (@terencechain) September 6, 2022

What's the purpose of the upgrade? It's meant to prepare the Beacon Chain network for the merger. After the launch of Bellatrix, a researcher at investment firm Galaxy Digital Christine Kim drew attention to some statistics. She said the network participation rate reached 94,94% and the number of active validators was 403 766 (another 17 743 were offline).

So to recap, post-Bellatrix, a few stats: - network participation rate is 94.94%- number of active validators is 403766- number of offline validators 17743- and client diversity for consensus layer clients page will be updated tomorrow so we can check again then— Christine Kim (@christine_dkim) September 6, 2022

Due to the algorithm change from PoW to PoS, the way the network earns coins will change from mining to staking. There may also be a split into two networks, one of which will continue to run on PoW. In August, developers published a document refuting misconceptions about the upcoming upgrade.

As of September 6 at 14:20 UTC, ETH is trading at $1646, having gained 3,98% overnight, according to Binance.

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