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What are the consequences of the Merge for Ethereum?

Ethereum is undergoing a lengthy overhaul of its consensus mechanism with implications for its energy footprint.

By Mike Hesp
• 2 min read
What are the consequences of the Merge for Ethereum?

Ethereum is undergoing a lengthy overhaul of its consensus process with implications for its energy balance.

Ethereum is moving its consensus from Proof of Work (PoW) to Proof of Stake (PoS). The Merge—where the Ethereum mainnet merges with the PoS-based beacon chain—is expected to take place in September.

From that moment on, the network will secure itself not by hashing power, but by staking Ether. This will end energy-intensive mining on Ethereum. It is estimated to save 99.95% of the blockchain's energy needs.

This will be followed by upgrades to scale the network. The focus here is on Layer 2 solutions that increase throughput and reduce costs.

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