Ethereum Successfully Forks Final Testnet Before The Merge
The Goerli testnet is now the third public testnet to be merged/forked to a proof-of-stake network. This is expected to be the final test fork before the upcoming merge on the mainnet.
Ethereum has many test networks, like most other blockchains, which allow developers to test functionalities and transactions using test ETH. Test ETH can only be used within the testnet and is made available via faucets. Faucets allow users to request test ETH to use for testing. This is essential, as Ethereums gas/transaction fees can be very high at times. Deployment of smart contracts, interacting with smart contracts, NFT purchases, transfers all have fees attached to the action.
The testnet forks allow developers, institutions, and future validators to test the new and updated functionalities before the mainnet merge.
The Merge is expected within Q3/Q4 2022 with a soft deadline of September 19, 2022. The Ethereum core development team is expected to make an updated announcement later today, following a successful testnet merge.
After The Merge, instead of mining, users can run a node. Two types of Ethereum nodes will be available: those that can propose blocks and those that don’t. Nodes that propose blocks includes mining nodes under proof-of-work and validator nodes under proof-of-stake. Mining will soon be cycled out as the mining difficulty bomb is rolled out with the merge to proof-of-stake. The difficulty bomb will increase mining difficulty requiring more computing power and also decreasing profits.
Staking Validators will be required to hold at least 32 ETH to run a block producing node. These nodes will periodically be chosen to propose a block which awards that node a a block reward. The nodes must be continuously running however, to validate transactions on the blockchain. On the Goerli testnet, block producers are being awarded around 0.00229 ETH per every 5 transactions in the block.
Users that can’t commit 32 ETH are still able to run a node to help secure the network by listening for and validating new blocks. To run a validator node, a “consumer-grade computer with 1-2 TB of available storage and an internet connection” is all that is required.
Read more on The Merge on ethereum.org
