Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has confirmed that the blockchain network will complete its switch to proof of stake this summer. He made this declaration at the ETH Shanghai Web 3.0 Developer Summit, where he said that the Merge is “very close to happening.”
Ethereum’s transition to the proof of stake has been promised for about seven years now. But there have been several delays and postponements that have left many disappointed. However, it appears that those disappointments will become a thing of the past soon.
During the summit, Buterin said,
“If there are no problems, then the Merge will happen in August. But of course, there’s always a risk of problems. There’s also a risk of delays. And so September is possible, and October is possible as well.”
While this still leaves some uncertainties, it gives Ethereum users something to look forward to. Some months ago, the Merge was expected to happen in June but one of the developers working on the project revealed that the June date will not be feasible.
Still, the Ropsten Testnet merge is scheduled for June 8. This is the biggest testnet Merge before the Ethereum mainnet merge. Buterin described it as a major test “larger than any of the tests that we have done before.”
The results of the Ropsten testnet merge will determine the date of the Merge.
Vitalik Buterin’s Ethereum Roadmap
Although what the mainnet Merge will bring to Ethereum is unknown, many predict that it would help to reduce Ethereum energy usage by more than 99% while also helping to improve its scaling ability and reduce gas fees. This would help to cement its leadership position in the market.
Based on Buterin’s roadmap for Ethereum, there’ll be other developments once the Merge is complete. The network will focus on improving scalability, doing so through Sharding. Other expected major events include The Purge, Surge, Verge, Splurge, etc.
But the Ethereum co-founder doesn’t think all the events on the roadmap must happen. According to him, “if we have The merge and we have The Surge, and we have nothing else, then Ethereum will still be a great system.”
However,
I think if we also get The Verge and we also get The Purge, and we also get these other improvements [The Splurge], then Ethereum will be an even better system,” he added.