According to a new clarification statement made on Wednesday, the Ethereum Foundation said that the next transitory upgrade of the proof-of-stake network dubbed “Merge” will not reduce gas fees. Regarding this, the foundation wrote:
“Gas rates are a product of network demand relative to network capacity. The Merge eliminates the use of proof-of-work, transitioning to proof-of-stake for consensus, but not does not significantly change any parameter that directly influences the capacity or performance of the network.
The Merge, or “fusion”, it intends to unite the existing execution layer of the Ethereum mainnet with its new proof-of-stake consensus layer, the Beacon Chain, which will eliminate the need for energy-intensive mining. It is expected to arrive in the third or last quarter of 2022. Although many investors and traders have bought Ether in anticipation of the Merge update, some seem to have done so under the misconception that network capacity will increase once the update is implemented.
For starters, anyone is free to sync their own self-verified copy of Ethereum, or run a node, with no initial Ether staking requirements. Regarding staking, it is not possible to withdraw locked Ether tokens until the next Shanghai update is implemented. However, liquid ETH rewards in the form of commissions will be available immediately. Validator withdrawals, once enabled, will be rate-limited to avoid a potential liquidity crisis.
Transactions will also not be noticeably faster after the expected update. However, network returns after The Merge are expected to increase by 50% compared to today to attract capital. Client developers are currently working on a tentative September 19 deadline for The Merge to complete, which is designed for zero downtime during the transition.
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