Here we go! The Merge is near and ETH prices have been jumping! What can we expect for the Merge? The biggest change: Migration from Proof of Work (PoW) to Proof of Stake (PoS). Still not sure what it is? Basically, the methodology in which new blocks are created will change. Currently, it’s all about which miners have the strongest hardware to “win” the right to process any given transaction via cryptographically solving block puzzles. This has been a HUGE detriment on power resources and PoS will bring in a new methodology where miners will become “validators” whom have to put up 32 ETH to participate in validating transactions, no matter the type of hardware they own. The transaction validations will be evenly distributed amongst validators. This means a reported 99% power usage reduction. However, this has been a thorn in the side of the miner community who have collectively spent a lot of money to build these powerful mining machines, and have been pushing to fork Ethereum so they can continue using them. Although no one TRULY knows how well the fork will flourish, most indications point to it being a failure sooner than later.

Reminder: ETH buy/sells will be paused at some point leading to the Merge and shortly after, so if you are planning to buy/sell, do it soon! Also, there are rumors of an ETHW airdrop to all ETH wallet holders. If you want to receive this airdrop, make sure you have ETH in your private wallet, not on Coinbase or FTX or any other centralized exchange (rumors are that you may not be eligible to “own” the airdrop if your ETH is on a CEX). If you have your ETH in a staked program, you will not receive the 1:1 airdrop on ETH not directly in your wallet, so remove your staked ETH temporarily if you want to participate!

Written by: nikethereum.eth / Medium / Mirror