The network will switch to the Proof-of-Stake consensus algorithm in August 2022

Vitalik Buterin named the release date of Ethereum 2.0

20.05.2022 - 06:30

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2 min

What’s new? Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has said that the blockchain’s merge from the Proof-of-Work (PoW) consensus algorithm to Proof-of-Stake (PoS) will take place in August 2022. Buterin told about this at the blockchain summit in Shanghai. The developer added that if there are risks, the Ethereum 2.0 release could be pushed back to September or October of the same year.

What is Ethereum 2.0? It is a major upgrade to the network, preparations for which began back in December 2020. The main goal of Ethereum 2.0 is to change the consensus algorithm from PoW to PoS. Read more about the upgrade and how miners will be able to earn in the changed conditions in GetBlock Magazine’s article.

What happened before? In December 2021, the Kintsugi testnet was launched. According to the Ethereum Foundation member Tim Beiko, once all the test results would be taken into account in the software and specifications, the final part of testing would begin, which would consist of several testnets. Ethereum launched its final Kiln testnet in March 2022. It is the last public network before switching to PoS.

And in April, the developers released a shadow fork to test PoS. According to developer Parithosh Jayanthi, the fork is intended to stress test the blockchain before the merger of Kiln with another Beacon Chain network. The testnet would also allow the community to “practice running their nodes, deploying contracts, testing infrastructure.”

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