As clarified by the Ethereum Foundation, the Bellatrix Upgrade is not the Merge, but a crucial step to provide the Switch needed for the Merge to occur.
The much anticipated Bellatrix upgrade has gone live on the Ethereum Network’s Beacon Chain as key stakeholders make final plans to usher in the Proof-of-Stake (PoS) protocol. The Bellatrix upgrade is considered one of the final steps or hurdles to surmount before the Beacon Chain, which was launched back in December 2020, is merged with the Ethereum Mainnet.
The Bellatrix upgrade was activated today at epoch 144896 on the Beacon Chain at 11:34 AM UTC. For all Ethereum Nodes to be in sync with the upgrade, they have to upgrade their software to the latest client versions.
One major message that stood out amongst validators in their graffiti, a text written on the blockchain, was “Welcome to the New Beginning.” This phrase is particularly common in the Ethereum community as it was also encoded in the blockchain at the time when the Beacon Chain was been launched.
As clarified by the Ethereum Foundation, the Bellatrix Upgrade is not the Merge, but a crucial step to provide the Switch needed for the Merge to occur. The Bellatrix upgrade was branded as the hardfork through which the “execution payload,” a formerly missing component of the Beacon Chain was introduced.
Following this upgrade, the Merge is now slated for later this month, September 14 to 16. Before the actual event goes live on the mainnet, the Paris Upgrade which will eventually activate the Merge will be expected so long as the Total Difficulty Terminal of 58750000000000000000000.
Interesting Times for Ethereum Post The Merge
While the entire community is agog with prospects of The Merge, informing the robust preparation many have been making ahead of the event, the transition from the Proof-of-Work (PoW) consensus model may actually spell good fortune for the Ethereum blockchain in the long term.
Confirmed that the PoS version will consume 99% less energy than its predecessor, Ethereum will now be aligned with the Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) standards of both regulators, and investors in general.
This can spell a new dawn for Ether as the native coin of the blockchain as investors will generally prefer to accumulate it in the place of Bitcoin (BTC) which is still powered by the high-energy intensive Proof-of-Work (PoW) consensus model.
Though the Ethereum Foundation confirmed the Proof-of-Stake (PoS) Ethereum will not necessarily make transactions faster or cheaper, it is sure to give more efficiency to the overall chain compared to the PoW version.
According to data from CoinMarketCap, Ethereum is currently changing hands at $1,651.11, up 4.89% in the past 24 hours, a bullish growth that showed investors welcomed the Bellatrix Upgrade with open arms.
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