Even though the Ethereum Merge is heralded as a major upgrade to the blockchain networkits transition to proof-of-stake makes it theoretically more vulnerable to attacks.
Speaking to Cointelegraph, the security researcher explained that unlike proof-of-work (PoW) systems, a proof-of-stake (PoS) system informs node validators in advance of the blocks to be validated, allowing them to plan attacks.
The security expert, who asked not to be named, is a blockchain developer and security researcher working on a layer 2 proof-of-stake blockchain.
The researcher explained that, in theory, An exploit could occur in the Ethereum blockchain after The Merge if validators manage to align two consecutive blocks to validate.
“If you control two blocks in a row, you can start an exploit on block N and finish it on block N+1 without any arbitrage bot coming to fix the price you’ve manipulated in between.”
“From the point of view of economic security, [esta vulnerabilidad] makes these attacks relatively easier to perform“.
The expert said that although it’s also possible for miners to validate consecutive blocks on PoW networks, that boils down to “bare luck” and doesn’t give the miner time to plan an attack.
As a result, the security researcher argues that Ethereum will be giving up some security strength when The Merge goes into effect:
“As we are now [con] Ethereum’s proof-of-work vs. Ethereum’s proof-of-stake, Ethereum’s proof-of-work does have stronger security […] and financial guarantees.
“But having said that […] proof-of-stake [sigue] having enough practical security [y] it doesn’t really matter that it’s not theoretically as secure as proof-of-work. It’s still a very secure system,” he added.
The security expert added that “Ethereum is working to fix [el problema de los bloques consecutivos].
It is a difficult problem to solve, but if it is achieved, the security of proof-of-stake systems will increase [aún más] [ya que] will have protection against those attack vectors.”
Ethereum validators are subject to slashing in PoSas the consensus rules were designed to financially incentivize validators to correctly validate incoming transactions and any contrary behavior would see their ETH staking slashed.
The Ethereum Merge will finally take place on September 15 at 2:30 am UTCaccording to Blocknative’s Ethereum Merge Countdown. The transition to PoS is poised to make the Ethereum network more scalable and energy efficient.
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