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Ethereum Merge Set To Happen August 2022
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Ethereum Merge Set To Happen August 2022

Ruby Layram
Ruby Layram
April 19th, 2023
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  • Ethereum merge set for August 2022
  • Ethereum merge will move the token from proof of work, to proof of stake

The up and coming Ethereum network upgrade has received a brand new update on its calendar - with August 2022 set as the new confirmed date of the merge. The merge - which has been delayed a number of times since it was first announced has just gone through another round of development testing.

Ethereum Merge Date Timetable

DateAction
12th April 2022Core Ethereum developer Tim Beiko confirms Ethereum Merge will happen in the months after June on Twitter.
19th May 2022Ethereum devs confirm summer 2022 merge 'if everything goes to plan'
25th May 2022Buterin confirms August 2022 merge date
August 2022Current confirmed date for the merge

If you believe in Ethereum and would like to stock up on some ETH before the merger, check out our guides on:

What is the Ethereum Merge?

The Ethereum ‘merge’ refers to a highly anticipated event on the Ethereum 2.0 path that will see Ethereum mainnet merge with the beacon chain PoS system. The blockchain will then be secured by staking ETH.

Eth 2.0 Merge Hold Ups

The necessary code was originally due to be completed by as early as February, according to the Ethereum Foundation community manager Tim Beiko - but this was held up development delays.

We think ~4 months is a generous timeframe from having the code done to seeing the merge on mainnet. We think there’s a chance [that the code being done] can [happen] by February (obviously, still a lot of unknowns!), so we decided to set the [difficulty] bomb based on that.
Tim Bieko in February 2022
In this statement, Bieko is referring to the difficulty bomb which will make Ethereum impossible to mine. The difficulty bomb is set to go off in December in the so-called Arrow Glacier upgrade. This was delayed back in August, during the London upgrade, and was then pushed back further to June 2022. Since then, a seemingly final date of August 2022 has been announced.

Buy Ethereum Before the Merge

Ethereum Balances Speed with Safety

Bieko clarified in February:, “To be clear, if the merge was ready before, we could do it prior to that.” The manager went on to suggest that the bomb can be pushed back even further if developers are not ready and that this will be discussed in a call around February. He went on to explain that they are aiming to have only one delay.

According to Bieko, “This strikes a balance between keeping the momentum going, ideally not pushing back the bomb twice, and having some buffer room for a longer than usual rollout and/or large hashrate changes on the network.” With that said, all participants have agreed that the most crucial component of the merge is that it is safe and well-tested. Many would be happy to push that bomb back twice if that is required.

In a Tweet on 15th October 2021, Bieko shared his views on pushing back the merge. He stated that pushing the merge back twice would disrupt the process but that having the merge too early could make it lose its forcing function utility.

According to Bieko, there is a lot of work to be done when planning for disaster recovery. The difficulty bomb is based on the current network hashrate. This means that, if the hashrate were to fall rapidly before the merge- as miners try to sell their mining rigs- the advent of the bomb could be accelerated and may happen weeks earlier.

On how to conduct a successful merge, Bieko suggested that Ethereum should create a set of clear milestones to follow. This very tactic helped Amphora to be a success and Bieko stated that this method should be followed for Ethereum 2.0.

Ethereum Key Facts

MeasurementData
Global Ethereum owners14,000,000
Global Ethereum users10,000,000
% of Crypto owners that with Ethereum24.4%
Ethereum market cap$340bn
Ethereum tokens in circulationAbout 112,000,000

Some other interesting points about Ethereum include:

  • Ethereum ranks second after Bitcoin by market cap

  • The daily average value of ETH transactions stands at 1.16 million for February and March 2022

  • The average 24h transaction volume for ETH is roughly $16 billion.

  • Surveys between October and December 2021 discovered that ownership levels for ETH had decreased from 28.2% to 24.4%

What is the Ethereum merge?
What is proof of stake?
Will Ethereum increase in value after the merge?

Contributors

Ruby Layram
Ruby is a writer for Bankless Times, covering the latest news on the cryptocurrency market and blockchain industry. Ruby has been a professional personal finance and investment writer for 2 years and is currently building her own portfolio of altcoins. She is currently studying Psychology at the University of Winchester, specialising in Statistical analysis.