Decoding the Delay of ETH's Difficulty Bomb: Insights from Metaverse Post
On June 10, core developers at Ethereum They decided to delay the highly anticipated integration of their Beacon Chain's consensus level with the execution layer until later this fall. Since late 2021, Ethereum 2.0 has been a hot topic, with discussions heating up recently.
The majority view this event simply as a transition plan. A transition from Ethereum's legacy proof-of-work (PoW) consensus model, which validates transactions based on the energy consumed, to the proof-of-stake (PoS) model.
"You can think of it like a public resource that enhances the health of Ethereum and earns you more ETH along the way,\" an entry on the Ethereum Foundation's website explains. \"Staking means you lock up your ETH to activate…\" The Beacon Chain During last June's meeting, developers didn't directly push back the merger but rather the built-in \"difficulty bomb.\" Despite its ominous name, it's not just for show. Introduced back in 2015, it was integrated into the Ethereum protocol as a preventative measure against chain splits. The ultimate goal is to motivate a full transition to proof-of-stake. validator software .”
It also means the end of Ethereum mining .
The difficulty bomb triggers each time a predetermined number of blocks are mined, making additions via PoW increasingly challenging. \"The complexity of transaction validation escalates dramatically, heading towards infinite difficulty over time,\" blockchain wrote. \"Thus, the disparity between rewards gained and energy expended continues to widen until mining becomes impractical.\"
"Since the announcement of the protocol shift, the Ethereum difficulty bomb has been pushed back five times,\" they noted. CNBC During nearly two hours of discussions last June, Ethereum developers pondered whether to keep their original timeline for the bomb's detonation in June. If they proceeded, the mining process could stretch dangerously close to 20-30 seconds per block by August, as Thomas Jay Rush pointed out.
By June 10, it was reported that \"the duration needed to mine a single block had already begun to rise,
increasing from approximately 13 seconds to over 16 seconds.\" Ultimately, the Ethereum team chose to delay the difficulty bomb's activation—though the decision wasn’t without its controversies.
Citing data from Etherscan, the Defiant Public domain movie poster image, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. rising Developer Ben Edgington emphasized the urgency of action. \"The costs of postponing the merge are very tangible: around 130,000 tons of carbon dioxide are emitted every day,\" he remarked, according to the Defiant. Meanwhile, Ethereum Foundation leader Tim Beiko urged careful attention to development processes to prevent team burnout.
It all sounds very familiar…
"Daily transactions on the network have remained above one million, excluding just one day since December 2020,\" they stated. \"The count of unique addresses keeps climbing sharply each month.\"
On June 13, Cointelegraph Rush also highlighted that the community's self-governing decisions set important precedents on a meta level. \"It’s akin to using a stick to get the community's attention,\" he noted. \"This should remind everyone that the core developers possess this decision-making power, prompting the community to engage more actively in such discussions.\" challenging market The complete dialogue from the call can be found on stayed . Beiko has encouraged everyone to tune in to grasp the passionate debates that unfolded. Regardless, no one questioned the imminent arrival of the merger—expected to occur within this year.
Ethereum has made major progress already. In early June, they successfully transitioned the archetypal Ropsten test network to proof of stake—a crucial dry run ahead of the main event. Following that, only the Ethereum mainnet needed the \"Gray Glacier\" update to circumvent the impending difficulty bomb. This update was activated starting from block 15,050,000 on June 30.
"Generally, when we name execution layer upgrades, we choose city names from Ethereum conferences. However, upgrades aimed solely at delaying the difficulty bomb use glacier names instead,\" Beiko explained in a June 16 blog entry announcing the update. \"Gray Glacier was selected because it literally merges into another glacier, mirroring our execution layer's upcoming merger with the Beacon Chain!\" YouTube He expressed his hope that this would be the final postponement before the difficulty bomb’s grand finale.
This transition will also enhance the decentralization and security of the blockchain. By requiring collateral, staking helps prevent malicious activities. Additionally, it fosters scalability improvements like sharding, effectively distributing network responsibilities—something miners have largely avoided.
Amidst all the lively discussions and enthusiasm, Ethereum's determination to proceed with the merger aligns with the overarching mission of self-governed, continual improvement central to Web3.
On Twitter Ethereum successfully transitions its Ropsten Test Network to proof of stake.
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