Ethereum's long-awaited transition from proof-of-work (PoW) to proof-of-stake (PoS) is upon us as the Merge looms in less than 10 hours. There's plenty to consider for the wider cryptocurrency space — and here's what you need to know. What is the Merge? The Ethereum blockchain will transition away from its energy-intensive consensus mechanism PoW as its execution layer merges with the new PoS consensus layer known as the Beacon Chain. The Beacon Chain went live in December 2020, allowing ecosystem participants to deposit or ‘stake’ ETH to become the new validators of the network, in doing so replacing PoW miners …

How exactly does Eurus work? This is a Layer 1 blockchain that is based on sidechain technology — by using an interoperable bridge protocol able to connect the Eurus mainnet with Ethereum or other networks. The founders of Eurus say their goal is to deliver faster crypto transactions and payments, ensure major blockchains can communicate with one another, and tackle some of the common pitfalls that have been identified with major networks — slow transaction speeds and high gas fees among them. This is set to be crucial in tackling the big hurdles surrounding the mainstream adoption of cryptocurrencies, all …

The Merge is fast approaching — and the switch to a Proof-of-Stake blockchain will be the most significant moment in Ethereum's history. Now, Proof of Attendance Protocols — unique NFTs known as POAPs for short — are being created for crypto enthusiasts who want a special memento of this historic occasion. POAPs have been celebrated by none other than Vitalik Buterin himself, as it allows recipients to show they personally participated in an event, such as a conference. The project spearheading these commemorative NFTs is known as EtherPOAP — and in another distinctive twist, POAP badges are going to be …

A new report released from CoinGecko uncovered the places around the world most interested in the upcoming Ethereum Merge. The data found Singapore as the most interested country worldwide and by a large margin at that. Singapore scored 377, which is nearly 100 points higher than the second place nations, Switzerland and Canada, both tied at 286 point. Germany, the United States and the Netherlands filled out the remaining top five spots. Scores were determined through an analysis of the frequency of ten search terms then combined for the overall ranking. These terms included ‘Ethereum Merge’, ‘ETH Merge’ and ‘Ethereum …

Ethereum's native token Ether (ETH) shows the potential to log major gains versus Bitcoin (BTC) with the ETH/BTC pair nearing yearly highs. Ether paints classic bullish reversal pattern The bullish cues come from a classic technical pattern called the inverse head and shoulders, which develops when the price forms three troughs below a common support level known as neckline. The middle trough, or head, is deeper than the other two, called the shoulders. An inverse head and shoulders setup resolves after the price breaks above the neckline while accompanying an increase in trading volume. As a rule of technical analysis, …

Pure proof-of-stake (PPoS) blockchain Algorand has introduced cross-chain communication and transaction speed improvements with the latest upgrade to its protocol. The layer-1 blockchain network announced the implementation of State Proofs to its mainnet, which introduces trustless communication between different blockchain protocols. The upgrade also increased Algorand’s processing speed from 1,200 to 6,000 transactions per second. The upgrade also includes the provision of new tools for developers as well as on-chain randomness capabilities for decentralized applications (DApps) running on Algorand. On-chain randomness is a key feature of Algorand's PPoS consensus, in which network validators are chosen at random despite the respective …

Crypto analytics firm Chainalysis has suggested that the price of Ether (ETH) could decouple from other crypto assets post-Merge, with staking yields potentially driving strong institutional adoption. In a Sept. 7 report, Chainalysis explained that the upcoming Ethereum upgrade would introduce institutional investors to staking yields similar to certain instruments such as bonds and commodities, while also becoming much more eco-friendly. The report said ETH staking is expected to offer a 10-15% yield annually for stakers, therefore making ETH an “enticing bond alternative for institutional investors” considering that treasury bonds yields offer much less in comparison. “Ether’s price could decouple …

Digital asset-backed securities provider ETC Group will continue to rely on Ethereum’s original proof-of-work (PoW) consensus for its current Ethereum exchange-traded product (ETP). ETC Group officially announced on Wednesday the launch of a new Ethereum ETP in response to the upcoming Ethereum Merge. Scheduled to occur in mid-September, the Ethereum Merge is a long-awaited consensus upgrade that is set to move the Ethereum blockchain from mining-based PoW to mining-free proof-of-stake (PoS). ETC Group’s new Ethereum ETP will rely on a forked PoW Ethereum chain, representing a group of miners opposing Ethereum’s switch to PoS. The PoW chain will have a …

As the Ethereum network moves from proof-of-work (PoW) consensus to proof-of-stake (PoS), a digital asset platform initiated a service for institutions to dive into Ether (ETH) staking. In an announcement sent to Cointelegraph, Swiss digital asset banking platform SEBA Bank said that it has launched an Ethereum staking service for institutions that want to earn yields from staking on the Ethereum network. According to the firm, the move is a response to the growing institutional demand for decentralized finance (DeFi) services. According to Mathias Schütz, an executive at SEBA Bank, the firm believes that institutions can also play a role …

Samson Mow, a well-known Bitcoin proponent, recently took to social media to talk about the centralization aspects of the upcoming Merge, which he claimed isn’t widely known. Ethereum is in the countdown mode after the completion of the Bellatrix upgrade on Sept. 6 and is all set for the official transition between Sept.13-15, depending on the hashrate (computer power) input on the network. The Merge is slated to be triggered by a difficulty threshold called the Terminal Total Difficulty (TTD) at a value of 58750000000000000000000. Mow claimed that while everyone thinks that the Merge will be triggered by pre-set threshold …

The growing number of speculators taking out Ether (ETH) loans to maximize their potential to earn forked Ether Proof-of-Work tokens (ETHPoW) has been causing headaches for decentralized finance protocols. The issue has been gaining traction over the past month or so, given that a significant number of Ether miners are expected to continue working on a forked PoW chain, or possibly even multiple chains post the long awaited Merge. In the event of a fork, on-chain ETH hodlers such as those using non-custodial wallets or those holding on exchanges that are supporting ETHPoW will be airdropped the equivalent amounts of …

The Bellatrix upgrade preparing Ethereum for the Merge was successfully completed on Sept. 6 - however concerns were raised over an almost one in ten missed block rate across the last 600 slots. The Bellatrix upgrade updated Ethereum consensus layer clients at epoch 144896 on the Beacon Chain prior to the upcoming Merge scheduled for sometime next week . However, 5% of the validators dropped offline during the hard fork, which contributed to the 9% missed block rate, according to Gnosis co-founder Martin Köppelmann. This led some observers to question the network’s readiness for the big switch to proof of …