Ethereum Core developer Tim Beiko reveals the merge preparations are now ready.
On August 18th, Ethereum core developer Tim Beiko confirmed the news that the preparations for the Ethereum mainnet merge have been successfully completed as per the Readiness Checklist.
Ethereum 2.0 is ready to launch
The mainnet Readiness Checklist is a document that outlines the list of tasks Ethereum developers are required to execute in preparation for the merge to proof-of-stake. It’s categorized into different parts, which are testing, testnets, and R&D.
Beiko shared the photo of the Readiness Checklist to Github on Twitter, which sparked several reactions and comments, as it confirms that the Ethereum mainnet is finally ready and could merge to the Beacon chain in mid-September, just as predicted.
Some users even went as far as speculating that the Merge might happen before the anticipated date. According to the developers, the merge is expected to begin on September 15th and, if successful, will transition the blockchain from proof-of-work (PoW) to proof-of-stake (PoS).
Ethereum gas fee could drop to $0.002
Ethereum 2.0 has been under preparation since 2019. The Beacon chain was launched in December 2020, just after the deposit contract address, which currently holds 13 million staked ETH tokens. The coins staked in Ethereum 2.0 are currently worth $24 billion at the current market rate.
The successful transition to proof-of-stake comes with block load improvement, which could raise Ethereum scalability by a wide margin with less energy consumption – a 99% decline from the current energy consumption level. With Ethereum 2.0 and subsequent updates, the gas fee on the blockchain is estimated to drop to as low as $0.002.
ETH has risen over 20% within the last 30 days, with the current price at $1,871. Most predictions are bullish for ETH ahead of the merge.
