The Merge is at your fingertips – The network Ethereum (ETH) is about to undergo a major update with the abandonment of Proof of Work in favor of the Proof of Stake. In fact, the update The Merge will be deployed in coming days. Faced with the imminence of the event, the node operators are preparing.
One week to The Merge: the countdown begins
The Merge is the big update coming to the Ethereum network. This will mark the abandonment of Proof of Work and the advent of Proof of Stake.
In fact, the Proof of Stake has already been active since December 2020 via the beacon chain. The Merge intended to connect application layer of Ethereum to this new consensus layer by Proof of Stake.
This update is taking place in 2 big steps. The first has already taken place with the hard fork Bellatrix, deployed on September 6. This hard fork aims to prepare the beacon chain for its connection to theexecution layer. This event will be followed by the Paris updatescheduled between September 13 and 15, which will mark the definitive transition to the Proof of Stake.
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Validators ready for The Merge
For The Merge to run smoothly, validators must update their nodes.
According to data compiled by Ethernodes, 72.9% of nodes of the’execution layer have made the latest updates and are ready for The Merge.
For their part, the 27% of remaining nodes that have not yet performed the update must imperatively do so before the Paris update.
Not Diverse Enough Clients: A Serious Problem for Ethereum
Unlike most blockchains, Ethereum is an ecosystem called multi-client. Thus, there are several different software for operating a node. In practice, this characteristic makes it possible to improve the decentralization of the network. Indeed, as there are several clients, the network is not pace dependent from a single implementation.
However, we are witnessing a cruel lack of diversity in the choice of customers used. A situation that may prove critical after The Merge. In fact, on the beacon chain, 44% of the nodes operate the Prysm client and 34% the Lighthouse client. In theory, it is essential that a client is not used by more than 66% of the nodes.
“It takes 2/3 of the validators to reach the finality. If a customer with more than 66% market share has a bug and forks to their own channel, they will be able to finalize. Once the fork is complete, validators will not be able to return to the real chain without being cut off. If 66% of the chain is forked simultaneously, the penalty will be the full 32 ETH. »
For the moment, the beacon chain does not have not exceeded the critical threshold of 66% of nodes operating the same client. However, the situation is more critical at the level of theexecution layer.
Indeed, more than 80% nodes operate the legacy client Geth. A situation that could become critical in the event of a bug in the client. Therefore, if you are a node operator, it will be essential to operate a minority client to try to tip the balance in the right direction.
For its part, Ether seems to be reacting well to the announcements relating to the Merge. Effectively, the support of the $1,400 seems to be holding up so far.
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