Ethereum is not only the second-largest cryptocurrency that is, after Bitcoin but also the leading smart contract-enabled blockchain.
Right from its creation in 2013, Ethereum has constantly surprised the crypto community with lots of amazing features. Furthermore, with the proposed Ethereum 2.0 upgrade, the crypto community will soon be witnessing the most amazing development on the Ethereum network.
Currently, Ethereum uses the Proof-of-Work (PoW) consensus mechanism to validate transactions on its network. That means the network is secured by an energy-intensive hashing algorithm just like other cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Litecoin, and Dogecoin.
But with Ethereum 2.0, there will be a complete revolution of how the network is secured. There will be a complete transition from Proof-of-work to Proof-of-Stake (PoS). That will not only encourage a much higher transaction throughput but also a significant reduction in transaction costs. According to Ethereum, the upgrade will make the currency more scalable, secure, and more sustainable.
But the big question remains, when will Ethereum 2.0 be fully launched?
Ethereum 2.0 Release Date
Although the first phase of the launch happened in December 2020, the remaining two phases may not come into a full release until 2022. The full launch of Eth2 has suffered some delays in the past few months, and this has caused a shift in the launch date earlier slated in 2019. But according to the statement released by the Ethereum founder, Vitalik Buterin, Eth2 researchers are working on ways to accelerate the merge and make the full launch happen earlier than expected.
Ethereum 2.0 Set to Launch in Phases
Ethereum 2.0 release is staggered into three distinct phases; phase 0, phase 1, and phase 2. Phase 0 (Beacon Change), which implemented the PoS algorithm was launched in December 2020. The implementation changed the consensus mechanism of Ethereum from using the PoW algorithm to the Pos algorithm which is less energy-intensive. PoS is currently used for testing.
Phase 1 of the upgrade is called ‘The Merge’. The phase is designated to merge the Beacon Chain into the mainnet and see the end of PoW algorithms completely. This phase is proposed to happen at some point in 2021.
Phase 2, the Execution phase, will see the implementation of Shard chains. This is the last phase of the upgrade and is slated to happen in 2022. Introducing sharding to Ethereum 2.0 will help scale the network by splitting transactions across 64 new chains. That will allow transactions per second on the network to go as high as 100,000.
Even though Ethereum 2.0 is set to fully launch in 2022, the plans can change at any time. In technology, things can change in an instant, so the full launch can happen even before that time.
Is Ethereum 2.0 A New Coin?
This is one of the concerns of many Ethereum holders about the Ethereum 2.0 upgrade, especially among the new ones. But the fact is that Ethereum 2.0 is not a new coin, and will not change the amount of ETH you hold.
On the other hand, the upgrade will improve the Ethereum network. It may have more effects on the ETH miners than holders due to the transition from PoW to PoS. Staking will take over mining completely, so, ‘miners’ will stake their cryptocurrency to approve transactions on the Ethereum blockchain. At the same time, the upgrade may likely affect Ethereum price on the positive side.
What Is the Difference Between Ethereum 2.0 And Ethereum 1.0?
The two major differences between the two versions of Ethereum are Shard Chains and the consensus mechanism used. Ethereum 2.0 uses the Proof of Stake (PoS) consensus mechanism while Ethereum 1.0 uses Proof of Work (PoW).
Who is Developing Ethereum 2.0?
The upgrade is conducted by hundreds of people. The whole Ethereum Foundation research team and other research and implementation teams are responsible for the development. More than 7 independent teams are collaborating on the Ethereum Foundation GitHub pages to build Ethereum 2.0 in a variety of programming languages for different use cases.
Final Note
Is the Ethereum 2.0 launch worth the wait? Absolutely! The new Ethereum upgrade will be improving the network in various ways. It will improve scalability, security, and make the platform more decentralized.
Eth2 will increase use case, transaction speed, and so help users enjoy a seamless experience on the platform. If there is any big thing the crypto community should be expectant for, in the coming years, Ethereum 2.0 will be one of them.
