Ethereum 2.0

Oct 17

Ethereum Launches Testnet to Begin Work on Shanghai Upgrade

Fresh off the success of a flawlessly-implemented merge event last month, Ethereum’s core developers are beginning to turn their attention to the network’s next, highly anticipated upgrade: Shanghai. The Ethereum Foundation on Friday announced the launch of a pre-Shanghai testnet it's calling “Shandong.” Shandong will serve as a testing ground for numerous Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs), which Ethereum’s core developers will build, tweak, and ultimately, whittle down to the select number...

Oct 12

Arbitrum’s Owners Acquire Key Ethereum Development Team

Offchain Labs, developer of popular Ethereum layer 2 scaling solution Arbitrum, has closed a deal to acquire Prysmatic Labs, one the core software development teams responsible for maintaining, upgrading, and innovating the Ethereum network, Offchain announced Wednesday. The move signifies a major development for Arbitrum, one of the many so-called rollup solutions built atop the Ethereum network. Rollups sidestep the Ethereum mainnet’s slow speed and volatile, often exorbitant gas fees by coll...

Sep 16

Ethereum is the second-largest crypto by market cap. Image: Shutterstock

Ethereum Continues to Sink Post-Merge: Down 18.5% in 3 Days

It's been a great week for Ethereum—and yet one of the worst in a while for ETH. Despite the success on Thursday of Ethereum’s much-anticipated merge, which saw the network flawlessly transition to proof of stake, the network’s native cryptocurrency, ETH, has plummeted some 18.5% in the last three days alone, to $1,419.07 at writing. ETH is down 5.6% today, hitting a low of $1,416.57 early Friday afternoon. The second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization appears close to breaching $...

Toward a more decentralized web. Image: Shutterstock

Big Firms Dominate Post-Merge Ethereum Validation

Many of the benefits promised by the Ethereum merge have come to pass, including a greater-than-99% reduction in energy use and its carbon footprint. But analysts who had raised the alarm over increased centralization before the transition remain concerned that relatively few entities dominate the proof-of-stake mechanism now underlying the blockchain. "[The] top 7 entities controlling >2/3 of the stake is pretty disappointing to see tbh," tweeted Martin Köppelmann, cofounder of DeFi platform Gn...

Sep 15

Ethereum Price Crashes Under $1,500 After Successful Merge

The Ethereum merge went off without a hitch from a tech perspective, but sentiment around ETH after the shift to a more environmentally-friendly consensus model might be dipping. Today, the price of ETH plummeted below the $1,500 mark for the first time in more than a week. According to data from CoinGecko, ETH is down almost 8% over the last 24 hours to a current price of $1,485. That’s a sharper drop than the rest of the crypto market right now, which CoinGecko says is down about 3% on the who...

What Is 'The Merge'? Ethereum’s Move to Proof of Stake

In September 2022, Ethereum made the transition from a power-hungry, proof-of-work system to an environmentally friendly proof-of-stake system. This switch is known as the "merge.” Here’s what you need to know. What is the merge? The merge changes the way that Ethereum transactions are validated. Previously, Ethereum worked like Bitcoin: transactions were mined by a decentralized network of computers, which raced to solve mathematical puzzles and were rewarded with new coins for doing so. This...

Sep 14

The Ethereum merge is upon us. Image: Shutterstock

What the Ethereum Merge Means for Ordinary Users—And What It Doesn’t

The Ethereum merge is here. The long-awaited upgrade to the second biggest cryptocurrency by market cap is expected to take place tonight, based on current estimates. So, what does that mean for you, the ordinary user or investor? Whether you’re holding your life savings in the asset or just 0.01 ETH, the network’s move from a proof-of-work blockchain to a proof-of-stake one will make things different. But what exactly? For some time, there have been rumors swirling around that this upgrade wi...

Ethereum Classic Hash Rate Soars as Merge Nears and Miners Roam

As Ethereum’s long-awaited upgrade nears, miners appear to be switching their rigs over to Ethereum Classic. Ethereum is set to end mining on its network tonight following the merge, which transitions the network to proof of stake. Meanwhile, the “original” Ethereum chain—Ethereum Classic, which forked back in 2016—has hit an all-time high hash rate of 65.49 terahashes per second (TH/s), according to 2miners.com data. Hash rate refers to the computational power used to mine a cryptocurrency. A...

Ethereum is the second-biggest crypto by market cap. Image: Shutterstock

The Ethereum Merge Is Tonight—Here’s How to Watch Live

The Ethereum merge is the biggest thing happening in crypto right now, and for our U.S. readers, it’s happening late tonight—currently targeted for around 10 p.m. PT on the West Coast, or 1 a.m. ET on Thursday for East Coasters. If you’ve been looking forward to Ethereum’s shift to an eco-friendly model and want to stay up late to see what happens when the current proof-of-work network is merged with the new proof-of-stake network, the Ethereum Foundation is holding its own livestream. The Ether...

Sep 12

Ethereum Merge Could Drive Up Institutional Adoption: Bank of America

Ethereum’s long-awaited upgrade this week may drive institutional adoption, researchers for Bank of America said on Friday. In a research note, the second-largest bank in the U.S. claimed the ability for Ethereum users to stake (i.e. pledge assets to the network) could increase interest for big investors. The second biggest cryptocurrency by market cap, Ethereum, is expected to complete its upgrade this week. Known as “the merge,” the upgrade will move Ethereum from a proof-of-work blockchain t...

Sep 9

Ethereum is the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap. Image: Shutterstock

Ethereum Successfully Deploys Final Network Test Before Merge

In the frenzied build-up to Ethereum’s much-anticipated merge, the network’s developers have deployed test after test to make sure everything goes smoothly when the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization transitions to proof of stake sometime next week. Ethereum today successfully completed what its developers say is the absolute final dress rehearsal for the historic and massive upgrade, which is likely to occur between September 13 and 15. The Ethereum mainnet’s 13th shadow f...

Coinbase is the leading crypto exchange in the U.S. Image: Decrypt/André Beganski

Coinbase’s Ethereum Staking Token Is Trading at a Discount—Here’s Why

Coinbase introduced its wrapped Ethereum staking token, or cbETH, late last month, and it’s been trading at a discount ever since. That discount today got as high as 8% compared to Ethereum—the crypto asset that it’s meant to represent. Why? It helps to know that Lido Staked ETH, a similar staking token known as stETH, is also trading at a discount—albeit a smaller one of 3%, according to CoinMarketCap. These liquid staking tokens, so named because they’re a spendable representation of an illiqu...

Sep 7

Binance US Launches High-Yield Ethereum Staking Just Days Before Merge

Binance US is the latest major crypto exchange to launch Ethereum staking on its platform. The company announced on Wednesday that users can now stake the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap and earn rewards at a starting rate of 6% APY. That’s a sizable step above major competitors like Lido and Coinbase, which currently offer 3.5% and 3.25% APY, respectively, on staked ETH. Crypto lending platforms like BlockFi and Nexo offer only 4% and 5% APY on ETH staking, respectively, despite us...

Sep 6

Ethereum is the second-largest cryptocurrency network by market cap. Image: Shutterstock

Ethereum Devs Dismiss Early Hiccups as Bellatrix Kicks Off the Merge

Ethereum core developers kicked off the network’s long-awaited merge early Tuesday morning by initiating one last major upgrade before the big switch: Bellatrix. But some early technical hiccups have some questioning the network’s preparedness for the update. The merge, an upgrade which combines the Ethereum beacon chain with its mainnet, is set to transition the network from an energy-intensive proof-of-work system to a much more energy-efficient proof-of-stake blockchain. Ethereum developers t...

Ethereum Domain Names Top NFTs as Most Traded Asset on OpenSea

ENS domains have taken the top spot as the number one collection on the NFT marketplace OpenSea. Driven by a 170% jump in sales over the past 24 hours, the Ethereum Name Service flipped the Bored Ape Yacht Club in seven-day volume. In the past week, ENS trading volume surpassed 2,305 ETH or $3.76 million, representing a 43% week-over-week increase. The Bored Ape Yacht Club saw a parallel 43% drop to 2,126 ETH. That dopamine from registering an ENS Domain > — rich (140u.eth) (@NoKapRich) Septemb...

Sep 3

Ethereum Staking Pools: Who Runs the Largest Ones?

Ethereum staking pools have been a popular, if somewhat contentious, way for investors without the funds or know-how to get in on network validator rewards. And there’s been plenty of time to get involved. The merge, which is scheduled to begin next week, has been in the works for years. The merge will shift Ethereum’s current proof-of-work mining model—which requires lots of power to run the mining rigs that process transactions—to a proof-of-stake consensus system that’s expected to use over 9...

Sep 2

Ethereum is the biggest market for NFTs. Image: Bored Apes, Moonbirds, CryptoPunks, and Doodles.

What the Ethereum Merge Means for NFTs

We’re days away from Ethereum’s long-awaited merge, in which the leading network for dapps and NFTs will shift to a more energy-efficient system. It’s years in the making, but as the mid-September target draws near, many users are wondering what could go wrong—and whether anything will change with their owned assets. That’s especially true when it comes to NFTs, with tens of millions of profile pictures, collectibles, and pieces of artwork now running on Ethereum—some of which have commanded eye...

Sep 1

How will it all turn out? Image: Shutterstock

The Ethereum Merge Is Almost Here. What Could Go Wrong?

It’s been awaited for half a decade, delayed for years, praised, condemned, tweaked, and so its developers say, perfected. Ready or not, here comes Ethereum’s long-anticipated merge. But, given the technical feat that it is, is there any risk of something going terribly wrong? The merge—Ethereum’s transition from a proof-of-work system to proof of stake—is set to occur between September 10 and September 20. During this historic upgrade to the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap, upon wh...

Aug 30

Pooling money together. Image: Shutterstock.

Ethereum Mining Pool Ethermine Launches Staking Service Ahead of Merge

Ethermine, the world’s largest Ethereum mining pool, announced the launch of a staking pool service for users today. The service, Ethermine Staking, will permit users to contribute funds as low as 0.1 ETH to a massive pool of user contributions that will be collectively staked to create and earn new ETH, once the much-anticipated merge transitions Ethereum to a proof-of-stake model next month. Ethermine Staking will not, however, be available in the United States. Currently, new ETH is created...

Aug 24

Coinbase Announces cbETH Wrapped Ethereum Staking Token

As the crypto world prepares for the Ethereum merge next month, popular crypto exchange Coinbase announced on Wednesday the launch of cbETH, its new wrapped and staked Ethereum ERC-20 token. Coinbase will add support for Coinbase Wrapped Staked ETH (cbETH) on the Ethereum network (ERC-20 token). Do not send this asset over other networks or your funds will be lost. What is cbETH? Let’s dive in 🧵👇 pic.twitter.com/n3Dp4OA6HO — Coinbase Assets (@CoinbaseAssets) August 24, 2022 "Coinbase Wrapped...

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