On 8 June, the Ethereum network underwent a notable testing milestone by executing the Ropsten testnet Merge. Ropsten, as such, is one of the many testnets created by the Ethereum Foundation and is essentially considered to be the best replication of the mainnet.
The test Merge saw the Proof of Work (PoW) network combined with a new Proof of Stake (PoS) consensus layer testnet, simulating what would happen during the actual Merge of the Beacon Chain and the mainnet. Apart from a few hiccups here and there, the said event was reasonably successful.
Ethereum’s Sopolia Beacon Chain deployed
Now, in what is the latest development, Ethereum’s Sepolia Beacon Chain has been deployed. The network’s second public testnet chain merge is just around the corner. This dress rehearsal, like the Ropsten one, would mark Sepolia’s integration with the Beacon Chain, and thenceforth, the consensus mechanism would alter to PoS from PoW.
Despite deploying the chain, the date of the Sepolia merge has not been decided.
Ethereum all core dev Tim Beiko clarified that the Ropsten testnet would be “depreciated.” Sepolia would essentially be the replacement, so projects running apps on Ropsten would have to migrate over to Sepolia for their respective boats to continue smooth sailing. It doesn’t mean that Ropsten would be shut down overnight and would gradually be phased out with time.
In other Merge-related news
For Ethereum’s PoS to be initiated, its difficulty bomb would have to detonate. Now, the network is set to undergo its Gray Glacier upgrade later this month, on the 29th. As highlighted in a recent article, the said upgrade would cater to the difficulty bomb and other inter-twined intricacies. It would push the Ethereum network another step closer to its actual Merge.