- Ropsten Beacon Chain has been launched, the Proof of Work blockchain that will allow to run a test on the transition to an Ethereum Proof of Stake mechanism.
- Ropsten, also known as Ethereum Testnet allows developers to test before changes happen on the mainnet.
On May 30, 2022, Tim Beiko, the core developer of Ethereum, reported via Twitter that the Ropsten Beacon Chain, the Proof of Work blockchain that will allow to run a test on the transition to a Proof of Stake (PoS) mechanism.
“LEthereum’s longest running PoW testnet is moving to Proof of Stake! A new Beacon Chain was released today, and ‘The Merge’ is expected to happen around June 8th on the network“said the developer, calling it”the first dress rehearsal“.
Ethereum begins testing
After about 7 years of work, Ethereum is finally getting closer to the goal. However, there is still one more phase to go: Testnet Deployment!
Keep in mind that Ethereum is the second largest blockchain by market capitalization and therefore developers cannot allow catastrophic errors to occur in the network as it would risk billions of dollars.
Thus, the launch is a major milestone towards the highly anticipated Ethereum merger.
The Merge, getting closer
It is essential to understand thatThe Merge’ refers to the merger of the PoW blockchain with the PoS Blockchain. What Explain the Ethereum Foundation, we can imagine that Ethereum is a spaceship that is not ready to make an interstellar journey. Beacon Chain represents a new engine and a reinforced hull that will allow the ship to go further.
Then, “when the time comes, the current ship will dock with this new system, merging into a single ship, ready to put out some serious light-years and conquer the universe.”says the signature.
Ropsten Testnet, sandbox
Secondly, Ropsten, also known as Ethereum Testnet, it is a test network for Ethereum. It basically follows a network structure similar to the Ethereum mainnet, or mainnet, and the Being considered the best replica of the Ethereum mainnet allows developers to test before changes happen to the mainnet.
On May 30, the Ropsten Testnet He launched its own Beacon Chain which, as many may know, is the Proof of Stake (PoS) blockchain.
It is estimated that by June 2, 2022 Ropsten’s recently released Beacon Chain will undergo the “Bellatrix” update to be compatible with The Merge.
Nevertheless, The Merge what is about to happen it will not happen with the mainnet, but with the test blockchain, that is, with Ropstenand once The Merge happens between Ropsten and the Ropsten Beacon Chain, a Total Terminal Difficulty (TTD) will be chosen to activate “The Merge”.
“We will choose a value that we expect to reach around June 8th or so. PoW on testnets is hard to estimate, so stay tuned.”Beiko added on Twitter.
The TTD is also known as the Difficulty Bomb, it refers to the block height in which the developers will code The Merge to take place, and lastly, the miners will have to configure their nodes with the TTD value.
Basically the developers will run a mock ‘The Merge’ to find possible bugs or flaws that can be fixed before the final merge event with the Ethereum mainnet.
Once this test runs, two more testnets, specifically Goerli and Sepolia, will experience The Merge before it occurs on the mainnet.
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