Ethereum developer Mikhail Kalinin has published a document proposing a faster merger of the ETH1 and ETH2 blockchains and, accordingly, a faster transition to PoS.
The Ethereum 2.0 network based on PoS is already in operation – this is the so-called Beacon Chain, launched on December 1, 2020.
Stakers have already blocked $ 6.2 billion worth of ETH to participate in block production. Kalinin has published specifications for connecting the Ethereum mainnet and the Beacon Chain. To speed up the merger, the developer proposes to “drop” most of the features and simplify the network, for example, postpone the ability to withdraw funds blocked for staking. Perhaps the sharding system will be postponed. But combining the basic functions of blockchains should be easier.
“When important features are being introduced, it is always best to consider the most basic version of the update and the subsequent ways to improve it. This allows for better management of upgrade complexity and risk. Simplification will make merging faster and safer, ”said Danny Ryan, one of the lead developers of Ethereum 2.0.
At the moment, the timing of the merger of networks has not yet been announced. Initially, it was assumed that phase 1.5 of Ethereum 2.0, within which the network will be merged, will be launched in 2022.
Note that the proposal to accelerate the transition to PoS came against the backdrop of a tense situation among Ethereum miners. The community has split over the adoption of EIP 1559, which is to be incorporated into the London hard fork. EIP 1559 will allow you to burn ETH when paying commissions, which will lead to a significant decrease in them and, accordingly, to a decrease in miners’ income. Now miners of the second cryptocurrency receive more than half of their income from transaction fees, and not from block rewards.
Opponents of EIP 1559 are trying to unite – they agreed on April 1 to send capacity to the Ethermine pool. This will allow the pool to achieve sufficient hashing power to one-way accept or revert network protocol changes.
Earlier, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin said that the network is “on the verge” of scaling 100 times, as in the near future the developers from Optimism will launch their second tier solution.
