The largest-ever upgrade to Ethereum, infamously known as The Merge, recently went into effect, and experts in the field are hailing it as a game changer for the entire cryptocurrency industry. All indications point to the success of the so-called merging, which aims to reduce the cryptocurrency’s energy use by more than 99%. The Ethereum network upgrade significantly changes how the blockchain secures its network and validates transactions. And we finalized! Happy merge all. This is a big moment for the Ethereum ecosystem. Everyone who helped make the merge happen should feel very proud today. — vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) September 15, 2022 Proof-of-Work (PoW) To Proof-of-Stake (PoS) The method used by cryptocurrencies like Ethereum and Bitcoin to create new coins is frequently criticized. Before the merger, each blockchain had its extensive network of miners operating specialized computers on every continent, crunching mathematical equations to verify transactions. Known as the Proof-of-Work (PoW) consensus, it consumes a lot of energy and is one of the sector’s most well-known targets for criticism. But after the upgrade, Ethereum switched to the Proof-of-Stake (PoS) algorithm, which replaces miners with validators. Validators use their existing Ether cache rather than operating enormous banks of computers to validate transactions and create new tokens. It uses much less power than mining, and according to experts, it wi...
