Proof-of-Stake

Ethereum Classic gets ‘endorsement’ from Vitalik Buterin, but ETC price still risks 50% crash

ETC’s ongoing price rebound looks eerily similar to a bull trap event from 2021.

Ethereum Classic (ETC) continues to reap benefits from its blockchain rival Ethereum’s upcoming transition from proof-of-work (PoW) to proof-of-stake (PoS). 

Vitalik Buterin likes Ethereum Classic

Notably, ETC’s price jumped by a little over 20% to reach $27.50, two days after Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin’s endorsement of Ethereum Classic went viral across social media. In his comments, Buterin presented the chain as a “fine” PoW alternative to Ethereum.

The statements appeared amid fears that Ethereum’s potential network upgrade this September will force PoW miners elsewhere. 

In other words, they would be looking for alternative PoW networks to ensure that their rigs remain functional. That could benefit Ethereum Classic since it’s the original version of Ethereum and could therefore ensure an easy migration for miners.

ETC technical outlook

Impressively, ETC price has rebounded by over 120% since mid June, making it the standout performer over the past month. Nonetheless, it is still down over 85% versus its May 2021 record high of $185, suggesting that its ongoing retracement move could technically be a bull trap.

A convincing piece of evidence comes from ETC’s 150% price rebound between June 2021 and September 2021, which became a false recovery signal.

Interestingly, ETC’s ongoing price action appears similar to the one in 2021, as illustrated in the daily chart below.

ETC/USD daily price chart. Source: TradingView

Like in 2021, ETC this year has been consolidating inside the range defined by its 0.236 Fib line (~$28.50) as support and 0.382 Fib line (~$22.80) as resistance. Similarly, the token’s daily relative strength has been correcting from its “overbought” area during the price consolidation.

Related: This little-known DeFi crypto token has rallied over 800% in a month

Therefore, ETC could continue trending sideways in the $22.80–$28.50 price range, followed by a breakdown toward the 0 Fib line near $13.65.

In other words, a 50% price drop from July ‘s price.

The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph.com. Every investment and trading move involves risk, you should conduct your own research when making a decision.

Ethereum price ‘cup and handle’ pattern hints at potential breakout versus Bitcoin

Ether has printed a classic bullish reversal pattern against Bitcoin weeks before the Merge launch date.

Ethereum’s native token Ether (ETH) has rebounded 40% against Bitcoin (BTC) after bottoming out locally at 0.049 on June 13. Now, the ETH/BTC pair is at two-month highs and can extend its rally in the coming weeks, according to a classic technical pattern.

ETH paints cup and handle pattern

Specifically, ETH/BTC has been forming a “cup and handle” on its lower-timeframe charts since July 18. 

A cup and handle setup typically appears when the price falls and then rebounds in what appears to be a U-shaped recovery, which looks like a “cup.” Meanwhile, the recovery leads to a pullback move, wherein the price trends lower inside a descending channel called the “handle.”

The pattern resolves after the price rallies to an approximately equal size to the prior decline. The ETH/BTC chart below illustrates a similar bullish technical setup.

ETH/BTC four-hour price chart. Source: TradingView

Notably, the pair now trades lower inside the handle range but could pursue a recovery toward the neckline resistance near 0.071 BTC. Afterward, a decisive cup and handle breakout above the neckline level could lead ETH/BTC to 0.072, up 12.75% from today’s price.

The success rate of the cup and handle pattern in reaching its profit target is 61%, according to veteran investor Tom Bulkowski. 

The Merge factor

The bullish setup for ETH/BTC also takes cues from Ethereum’s network transition from proof-of-work (PoW) to proof-of-stake (PoS) potentially via “the Merge” slated for mid September.

Related: Will Ethereum Merge hopium continue, or is it a bull trap?

Meanwhile, market analyst Michaël van de Poppe says that Ether could see more upside versus Bitcoin due to the Merge hype as momentum builds in the coming weeks. 

Van de Poppe anticipates ETH/BTC to test 0.072, the cup-and-handle profit target, as interim resistance while holding either 0.0645 or 0.057 level as support.

ETH/BTC weekly price chart. Source: TradingView/Michaël van de Poppe

Conversely, the range of risks for Ethereum with the Merge update include potential technical issues, delays or even a contentious hard fork. For instance, a bug had split the Ethereum chain during a 2020 network upgrade.

The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph.com. Every investment and trading move involves risk, you should conduct your own research when making a decision.

Ethereum price ‘cup and handle’ pattern hints at potential breakout versus Bitcoin

Ether has printed a classic bullish reversal pattern against Bitcoin weeks before the Merge launch date.

Ethereum’s native token Ether (ETH) has rebounded 40% against Bitcoin (BTC) after bottoming out locally at 0.049 on June 13. Now, the ETH/BTC pair is at two-month highs and can extend its rally in the coming weeks, according to a classic technical pattern.

ETH paints cup and handle pattern

Specifically, ETH/BTC has been forming a cup and handle on its lower-timeframe charts since July 18. 

A cup and handle setup typically appears when the price falls and then rebounds in what appears to be a U-shaped recovery, which looks like a cup. Meanwhile, the recovery leads to a pullback move, wherein the price trends lower inside a descending channel called the handle.

The pattern resolves after the price rallies to an approximately equal size to the prior decline. The ETH/BTC chart below illustrates a similar bullish technical setup.

ETH/BTC four-hour price chart. Source: TradingView

Notably, the pair now trades lower inside the handle range but could pursue a recovery toward the neckline resistance near 0.071 BTC. Afterward, a decisive cup and handle breakout above the neckline level could lead ETH/BTC to 0.072, up 12.75% from the price of Saturday.

The success rate of the cup and handle pattern in reaching its profit target is 61%, according to veteran investor Tom Bulkowski. 

The Merge factor

The bullish setup for ETH/BTC also takes cues from Ethereum’s network transition from proof-of-work (PoW) to proof-of-stake (PoS) potentially via the Merge slated for mid-September.

Related: Will Ethereum Merge hopium continue, or is it a bull trap?

Meanwhile, market analyst Michaël van de Poppe says that Ether could see more upside versus Bitcoin due to the Merge hype as momentum builds in the coming weeks. 

Van de Poppe anticipates ETH/BTC to test 0.072, the cup-and-handle profit target, as interim resistance while holding either 0.0645 or 0.057 level as support.

ETH/BTC weekly price chart. Source: TradingView/Michaël van de Poppe

Conversely, the range of risks for Ethereum with the Merge update includes potential technical issues, delays or even a contentious hard fork. For instance, a bug had split the Ethereum chain during a 2020 network upgrade.

The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph.com. Every investment and trading move involves risk, you should conduct your own research when making a decision.

Inflation got you down? 5 ways to accumulate crypto with little to no cost

As high inflation destroys the purchasing power of fiat, these options offer hodlers a way to add to their portfolio without breaking the bank.

Experienced crypto traders know that bull markets are for selling and bear markets are for accumulation, but the latter can be difficult amid a backdrop of surging inflation that saps the purchasing power of fiat currencies. 

As the crypto market heads deeper into crypto winter, with prices in the gutter and developers focused on creating the next popular protocol or breakout token, some crypto fans have begun to explore new ways of increasing their stack in preparation for the next bull market.

Here’s a look at the top five ways hodlers can increase the size of their crypto portfolio without breaking the bank so that the money they earn can go toward combating the rising cost of living.

Staking

Staking is perhaps the most tested and proven way to increase the number of tokens held, as the vast majority of proof-of-stake (PoS) networks offer a steady yield for locking up coins.

In addition to helping with transaction validation and network security, staking tokens in a smart contract reduces the available circulating supply, which, in turn, can help boost the price of the underlying crypto asset.

Care should be taken as to which token is staked, however, as crypto winters are known for leading to the demise of most protocols that lack solid fundamentals or significant backing.

Projects with an established track record, healthy trading volume and an active and growing community of users are some of the keys to look at when choosing a good PoS network. Some of the top options in the current market include Ethereum, Cosmos, Fantom, Solana, Avalanche, Polygon and Polkadot.

GameFi and play-to-earn

2021 saw the emergence of GameFi and play-to-earn (P2E) protocols, which offer gamers the ability to do what they have always loved — and earn a living in the process.

While token prices for the most popular games like Axie Infinity (AXS) have plummeted, which, in turn, hurt the earning ability of players, the sector remains one of the most active in the cryptocurrency ecosystem and is likely to continue to thrive in the future.

Some games do require an upfront investment, which may price out many who are looking for no-cost ways to earn crypto. But, protocols like Yield Guild Games and Merit Circle offer these users the option to rent or borrow the required assets in exchange for a small commission that is taken out of any rewards that are earned.

Crypto side gigs

The past decade saw the rise of the gig economy as ride-sharing apps and food delivery services exploded in popularity and workers shunned the traditional 9–5 workday routine.

As remote working and the nomad lifestyle have grown in prominence, the decentralized nature of cryptocurrencies has opened the door to a multitude of opportunities for people to help contribute to the ecosystem while also earning crypto in the process.

Despite the onset of crypto winter, which has led to some of the biggest companies in the industry laying off large percentages of their workforce, new jobs in the sector are posted daily as projects launch and established companies bridge over from the legacy system.

From part-time gigs and contract jobs to bounty assignments and community outreach, there are a variety of side gig opportunities for hodlers to earn crypto while their day job pays the bills.

Related: Don’t wait around for recovery, keep on building, says Web3 exec

Airdrop hunting

Cryptocurrency airdrops have become a mainstay in the crypto community as they offer one of the best ways to maximize marketing efforts and bring new users into the community.

As flash-in-the-pan projects that quickly rose and fell during the bull market begin to fold and fade into the rearview mirror, new projects representing the next generation of blockchain protocols are beginning to launch and need to attract users to their ecosystems.

While tokens for these projects typically start out with little to no value, individuals with patience can sometimes be rewarded with a nice payday down the road once bullish momentum returns to the market.

Another option is for crypto degens to explore airdrops that have already taken place with the goal of finding ones that they qualified for but have yet to claim. Some more recent examples include the Optimism (OP) and Evmos (EVMOS) airdrops, which came at the tail end of the bull market and might have gotten lost in the chaos of the past few months.

Once claimed, users have the option of selling these tokens for a stablecoin or other preferred crypto, or they can hold these tokens with the hope that they will see nice gains once crypto spring rolls around.

Spreading the crypto gospel (for referral bonuses)

One of the oldest ways for crypto enthusiasts to earn a few Satoshis on the side is by earning referral bonuses when they refer users to cryptocurrency exchanges or newly launched decentralized finance protocols that are looking to attract users and liquidity.

While the crypto contagion sparked by the collapses of Terra (LUNA) — now called Terra Classic (LUNC) — and Three Arrows Captial has led to firms like Coinbase needing to tighten their belts and discontinue referral bonuses, there are still ample opportunities for evangelists to spread the word and earn a reward.

This can also aid in the process of attracting no-coiners to the crypto community as those with extra motivation search outside the available pool of traders in pursuit of higher bonuses.

It’s important to note that those interested in earning extra crypto through referrals should do the proper due diligence in vetting a platform before directing others there, as folks are likely to look unkindly on someone who refers them to a scam or rug pull.

Want more information about trading and investing in crypto markets?

The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph.com. Every investment and trading move involves risk, you should conduct your own research when making a decision.

All ‘Ethereum killers’ will fail: Blockdaemon’s Freddy Zwanzger

“All the Ethereum killers from back in the day didn’t succeed, and I don’t expect them to succeed at all,” Blockdaemon’s Ethereum lead told Cointelegraph.

Blockdaemon’s ETH ecosystem lead Freddy Zwanzger believes Ethereum will retain its leadership position in the crypto ecosystem over the coming years due to its utility as a smart contract platform and upgrades to the network following the Merge. 

Speaking to Cointelegraph during the Ethereum Community Conference (EthCC) this week, Zwanzger said:

“It’ll continue to be a leader. I mean, obviously, the first and most important smart contract platform, and that’s not going to change.”

Blockdaemon is an institutional-grade blockchain infrastructure platform that offers node operations and infrastructure tooling for blockchain projects.

The Blockdaemon employee also took aim at so-called “Ethereum killers” — competing Layer 1 blockchains — which have tried to topple Ethereum from its leadership position but failed.

“All the Ethereum killers from back in the day didn’t succeed, and I don’t expect them to succeed at all.”

Crypto projects that have been touted as “Ethereum killers,” include Solana, Cardano, Tezos, and Polkadot, among others. Many of these blockchains tout lower fees and faster transactions but have fewer active developers and certain blockchains place h less emphasis on decentralization.

To date, none have managed to displace Ethereum from its number two spot in terms of market cap. Cardano and Solana currently sit in the eighth and ninth positions, Polkadot is ranked 11 while Tezos is ranked 37, according to Coinmarketcap.

Zwanzger believes that the upcoming Merge will further propel Ethereum onwards and upwards in terms of technology and price.

“There are so many good things in there, like environmentally-friendliness, [and] all sorts of things that are beneficial to a lot of people. Staking will become more attractive,” he said.

“It’s a show of strength and commitment that the roadmap is materializing.”

The Ethereum Merge involves transitioning it from the energy-intensive proof-of-work (PoW) mining consensus to a proof-of-stake (PoS) model, and has been tentatively scheduled to be rolled out around September 19.

However, Zwanzger admitted the big future challenge for Ethereum will continue to be scalability.

“The original Ethereum roadmap was focused on sharding, but that’s not so much the case anymore. Now we have a roll-up-centric roadmap, so scaling via layer 2 solutions.”

Currently, the “proof-of-work” consensus model allows the blockchain to process 15 to 20 transactions per second (TPS) according to data from Blockchair.

A quantum leap in the number of transactions per second is expected sometime in 2023 when the Ethereum network introduces sharding.

Sharding is a multi-phase upgrade to improve Ethereum’s scalability and capacity by splitting the entire network into multiple portions in order to increase the network capacity.

Sharding will work hand in hand with layer 2 solutions to further “supercharge” the scalability of the network.

Post-sharding, cofounder Vitalik Buterin has claimed the network will be capable of transaction speeds up to 100,000 TPS.

All ‘Ethereum killers’ will fail: Blockdaemon’s Freddy Zwanzger

“All the Ethereum killers from back in the day didn’t succeed, and I don’t expect them to succeed at all,” Blockdaemon’s Ethereum lead told Cointelegraph.

Blockdaemon’s Ethereum ecosystem lead Freddy Zwanzger believes Ethereum will retain its leadership position in the crypto ecosystem over the coming years due to its utility as a smart contract platform and upgrades to the network following the Merge. 

Speaking to Cointelegraph during the Ethereum Community Conference (EthCC) this week, Zwanzger said:

“It’ll continue to be a leader. I mean, obviously, the first and most important smart contract platform, and that’s not going to change.”

Blockdaemon is an institutional-grade blockchain infrastructure platform that offers node operations and infrastructure tooling for blockchain projects.

The Blockdaemon employee also took aim at so-called Ethereum killers — competing layer-1 blockchains — which have tried to topple Ethereum from its leadership position but failed:

“All the Ethereum killers from back in the day didn’t succeed, and I don’t expect them to succeed at all.”

Crypto projects that have been touted as Ethereum killers include Solana, Cardano, Tezos and Polkadot, among others. Many of these blockchains tout lower fees and faster transactions but have fewer active developers and certain blockchains place h less emphasis on decentralization.

To date, none have managed to displace Ethereum from its number two spot in terms of market cap. Cardano and Solana currently sit in the eighth and ninth positions, Polkadot is ranked 11 while Tezos is ranked 37, according to CoinMarketCap.

Zwanzger believes that the upcoming Merge will further propel Ethereum onward and upward in terms of technology and price.

“There are so many good things in there, like environmentally-friendliness, [and] all sorts of things that are beneficial to a lot of people. Staking will become more attractive,” he said:

“It’s a show of strength and commitment that the roadmap is materializing.”

The Ethereum Merge involves transitioning it from the energy-intensive proof-of-work (PoW) mining consensus to a proof-of-stake (PoS) model, and has been tentatively scheduled to be rolled out around September 19.

However, Zwanzger admitted the big future challenge for Ethereum will continue to be scalability:

“The original Ethereum roadmap was focused on sharding, but that’s not so much the case anymore. Now we have a roll-up-centric roadmap, so scaling via layer-2 solutions.”

Currently, the proof-of-work consensus model allows the blockchain to process 15 to 20 transactions per second (TPS), according to data from Blockchair.

A quantum leap in the number of transactions per second is expected sometime in 2023 when the Ethereum network introduces sharding.

Sharding is a multi-phase upgrade to improve Ethereum’s scalability and capacity by splitting the entire network into multiple portions in order to increase the network capacity.

Sharding will work hand in hand with layer-2 solutions to further “supercharge” the scalability of the network.

Post-sharding, cofounder Vitalik Buterin has claimed the network will be capable of transaction speeds up to 100,000 TPS.

Lido co-founder discusses the future of Ethereum at EthCC

For Vasily Shapovalov, the magnitude of the proof-of-stake transition could cause unforeseeable problems.

Crypto enthusiasts are finally getting some respite from the ongoing bear market as the price of Ethereum (ETH) has increased 48% before the looming Merge upgrade that transitions the blockchain into one powered by a proof-of-stake consensus. As a result, the future of Ethereum has become one of the highly discussed topics during the annual Ethereum Community Conference, or EthCC in Paris. On Wednesday, Cointelegraph’s events manager Maria A. spoke to Vasily Shapovalov, co-founder of Ethereum liquid-staking solution Lido Finance.

As a co-founder of Lido, Shapovalov has a heavy focus on technical developments, including maki the algorithm and designing the protocol for withdrawals after the Merge. Secondary priorities include updating governance protocols and improving algorithms for the selection of validators.

When asked about his view on Ethereum’s position in the crypto ecosystem in the next two years, Shapovalov said that the trend is that of growing consolidation and that the new upgrade, which speeds up on-chain transactions, would make certain layer-2 solutions redundant. For Shapovalov, it’s a mix between anxiety and excitement:

“The Merge upgrade is like changing the engine on a plane mid-flight. We are overhauling everything from the consensus algorithm to the execution environment. We know some implications of this change on elements like blockchain security, but it’s not guaranteed.

Nevertheless, the Lido co-founder expressed his optimism on the upgrade: “A proof-of-stake economy the size of Ethereum now, with a new level of competitiveness, financialization and new investment potential. It’s gonna be very scary indeed, but let’s see what happens.

Will Ethereum Merge hopium continue, or is it a bull trap?

ETH has gained 48% over the past week, leaving most of its crypto brethren behind — though it’s still risky days ahead given the macroeconomic factors at play.

Ethereum is outperforming the broader cryptocurrency market as the highly anticipated Merge approaches, but the bigger picture is still largely bearish.

Ether (ETH) has gained a whopping 48% over the past seven days, outperforming its big brother Bitcoin (BTC), which has only managed to achieve 19% in the same period. It’s also up 66% from its market cycle bottom of $918 on June 19, reaching its current price of $1549.

However, the current ETH rally could be a bull trap with the macroeconomic clouds darkening. A bull trap is a signal indicating that a declining trend in a crypto asset has reversed and is heading upward when it will actually continue downward.

The primary driver of recent momentum for the asset has been linked to announcements regarding its final switch to proof-of-stake (PoS), which has been slated for Sept. 19.

The Merge will reduce the network’s energy consumption by more than 99%. However, it will not necessarily reduce transaction fees significantly, as this will occur when scaling takes place via sharding, which is expected sometime next year.

On Tuesday, a Coinbase report on the Merge explained that the next major step and last dress rehearsal is the Goerli testnet Merge, which has been planned for August 11.

Goerli is the most battle-tested Ethereum environment with the most user activity and the closest simulation of the real thing.

While the major upgrade is the fundamental driver of current ETH market sentiment, the asset is still trading down 68% from its November 2021 all-time high.

There have also been concerns that a significant amount of ETH may flood the market after the Merge and its release from its staking smart contracts.

However, director of research at 21Shares, Eliézer Ndinga, told Cointelegraph that this is unlikely to happen:

“The withdrawals of Ether won’t occur until 6-12 months post Merge after the Shanghai upgrade. The withdrawals will be limited to six validators every epoch or ~ 6 minutes to avoid bank runs and keep the network secure.”

Related: Ethereum devs confirm the perpetual date for The Merge

According to a recent survey by Finder, conducted before the most recent rally, said there is still a lot of negative sentiment regarding short-term Ether prices. 

The panel of 54 industry experts polled thought ETH would be worth $1,711 by the end of 2022, climbing to $5,739 by 2025, before hitting $14,412 by 2030. However, they also thought it would dump to $675 before the year was out.

Finder said there are a couple of macroeconomic factors that could cause this retreat. The United States Federal Reserve is expected to hike rates again by 75 basis points during their July 26-27 meeting, which is generally bearish for crypto markets. If Bitcoin (BTC) takes a dive, Ether is sure to follow.

Additionally, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) will release its advance estimate of second-quarter GDP growth on July 28. Another negative quarter, which is expected, will mean that the country is in a technical recession, which is also very bad for risk-on assets such as Ether.

Lido DAO most ‘overbought’ since April as LDO price rallies 150% in two weeks — what’s next?

Ethereum 2.0’s tentative launch in September raises LDO’s prospects of holding its gains.

The price of Lido DAO (LDO) dropped heavily a day after its key momentum oscillator crossed into “overbought” territory.

LDO undergoes overbought correction

LDO’s price plunged to as low as $1.04 on July 16 from $1.32 on July 15, amounting to a 20%-plus decline. The token’s sharp downside move took its cues from multiple bearish technical indicators, including its daily relative strength index (RSI) and its 100-day exponential moving average (EMA).

LDO’s latest plunge came after it rallied over 150% in just two weeks, a move that simultaneously pushed its daily RSI above 70 on July 15, thus turning it overbought. 

An overbought RSI signals that the rally may be nearing an end while readying for a short-term pullback.

Meanwhile, more downside cues for the Lido DAO token came from its 100-day EMA (the black wave in the chart above) near $1.30, which capped LDO from extending its 150% price rally.

LDO/USD daily price chart. Source: TradingView

In its initial stages, the price action looked similar to LDO’s correction in April 2022, after its RSI crossed above 70 for the first time in history. Notably, the Lido DAO token had undergone a 90%-plus price decline to reach $0.39, its record low, by mid-June 2022. 

Related: What are the top social tokens waiting to take off? | Find out now on The Market Report

That raises LDO’s potential to repeat the April-June 2022 correction, albeit with no exact bottom in sight. That said, the token’s interim downside target appears near its 50-day EMA (the red wave) at $0.90, down another 20% from today’s price.

On the other hand, a break below the 50-day EMA would risk crashing LDO to around $0.75, which coincides with the 0.618 Fib line of the Fibonacci retracement graph drawn from $0.39-swing low to $1.31-swing high.

Ethereum 2.0 expected in September

On July 15, Ethereum developers confirmed that their network’s much-awaited transition to proof-of-stake from proof-of-work, dubbed “the Merge” or “Ethereum 2.0,” would tentatively occur on September 19.

LDO surged nearly 25% on the day of the announcement due to its close ties to Ethereum.

In particular, LDO serves as a governance token at Lido, a liquid staking platform that has locked over 4.13 million ETH (worth around $5 billion) into Merge’s official smart contract on behalf of its users.

Ethereum 2.0 total value staked by provider. Source: Glassnode

Post Ethereum’s announcement, the number of Ether deposited into the Merge smart contracts via Lido increased.

With Lido currently the biggest provider by total value staked, a successful Merge launch could bring more users to Lido, which, in turn, could boost demand for LDO tokens.

Therefore, a technical correction in LDO’s price could follow up with a rebound toward the 100-day EMA if the Ethereum’s plans to become a proof-of-stake chain comes punctually.

The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph.com. Every investment and trading move involves risk, you should conduct your own research when making a decision.

Ethereum devs confirm the perpetual date for The Merge

Ethereum’s transition journey from PoW to PoS journey could take up to years as it began with the launch of Beacon Chain in December 2020 and has seen several delays on the way.

Ethereum network is nearing the merger phase of its crucial transition from proof-of-work (PoW) mining consensus to proof-of-stake (PoS). Ethereum (ETH) devs offered a perpetual merger date during a conference call on Thursday.

The conference call saw core Ethereum developer Tim Beiko, who runs core protocol meetings, propose September 19 as the tentative target date for the merger. The proposed target date didn’t face any objection from the core developers.

Later, Ethereum developer superphiz.eth tweeted about the roadmap to the merger and also cleared that the proposed target date should be seen as a roadmap rather than a hard deadline.

Ethereum’s transition journey to PoS-based ETH 2.0 began on December 1, 2020, with the launch of Beacon Chain, initiating Phase 0 of the transition. Phase 1 of the program was scheduled to launch in mid-2021 but got delayed to the first quarter of 2022 owing to unfinished work and the complexities involved in the code auditing.

Earlier in June this year, Sepolia testnet Beacon Chain went live, setting the stage for its Merge dress rehearsal to give Ethereum network developers valuable technical insights. The Sepolia was eventually merged with the network on July 7.

The final trial of the Merge is set to occur on the Goerli network, which is scheduled for the second week of August. After its merger, the official Merge slated for the second half of September would become a priority for devs.

Ethereum’s transition to PoS based network is expected to reduce its energy consumption by 99% and the introduction of sharding (expected by the first quarter of 2023) would make the network highly scalable and on par with centralized payment processors.

Related: Vitalik argues that proof-of-stake is a ‘solution’ to Ethereum’s environmental woes

The PoS vs. PoW debate has been a long-running one, where PoS proponents claim it’s more environment friendly and equally secure while PoW proponents, including the likes of Jack Dorsey, have called PoS centralized and less secure.

Lately, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has been aggressively defending PoS, arguing that quite opposite to common belief, PoS does not include voting on protocol parameters, just like proof-of-work (PoW) doesn’t. Buterin also explained that nodes reject invalid blocks in both PoS and PoW.

While Buterin continues to bat for PoS, a recent report from HOPR highlighted some of the key vulnerabilities that could prove critical post Merge.

“We should stress that this isn’t an emergency: It doesn’t affect any funds today. But this WILL be a major problem post Merge and validators are incentivized to disrupt each other to poach a share of millions of $$$ in MEV.”

The report highlighted that validators on the network leak their IP addresses while broadcasting attestations and blocks, which are linked to their public key but these validators are known ahead of time, allowing for highly targeted and selective attacks (DoS or other) against upcoming validators.

The HOPR team noted that an audit report has even labeled the issue as “mitigated,” which is not true because attackers are not limited to (DoS) attacking the Teku node.