ETH2 Rebrands to “Consensus Layer”
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The highly anticipated ETH 2.0 update will be renamed, “consensus layer” in an attempt to simplify the concept for the greater public.
The Ethereum Foundation, the development team behind the Ethereum ($ETH) blockchain network, has released a blog post indicating that the development group will shift away from using the “Eth1” and “Eth2” terminology and move towards using “execution layer” and “consensus layer”. The core developers of Ethereum have already stopped using “Eth1” and “Eth2” since late 2021 in favor of the new terminology where:
Eth1 is the execution layer
Eth2 is the consensus layer
Execution layer and consensus layer together form Ethereum
There are several reasons behind the rebranding of the update, including a reiteration of the Ethereum 2.0 roadmap which continues to see delays due to the overall scope of the project. One of the major aspects of the transition from the execution layer (Eth1) to the consensus layer (Eth2) is the move from processing transactions using a proof-of-work (PoW) mining system to a proof-of-stake (PoS) staking system.
The team recognizes that certain parts of the update such as the Beacon Chain would be ready for launch sooner than others such as Ethereum’s proposed shard chains which would provide greater scaling solutions for the main chain including faster and cheaper transactions on Ethereum. The team also noted the viability of rollups and other layer2 protocols in regards to providing secure ways to scale Ethereum, stating “we could shift the focus towards scaling via rollups instead of sharded execution” for the time being. Current prominent scaling solutions for Ethereum include Polygon ($MATIC) and Arbitrum.
Other reasons behind the rebranding include providing clarity regarding the updates, greater inclusivity for new users to “allow content on Ethereum to be understood by the broadest audience possible,” preventing scams from using the ETH2 name to confuse unknowing users, and clarity for staking participants. While the rebranding seems to have good intentions, the inclusion of “yet another” twist and turn in the road to an updated and finalized Ethereum raises more questions for the unknowing investor rather than clear up misconceptions.