One of the reasons for leaving Proof of Stake (PoW) is the high energy consumption required for this process. Proof of Stake (PoS) consumes less energy, although it carries other significant risks. The first of these is security, since the verification and validation process is simplified. The second is in centralization, because 32 ETH will have to have a validating node.
When will Ethereum 2.0 and its transition to PoS arrive?
Vitalik Buterin, one of the creators of Ethereum, has spent years working with many other programmers to modernize this network. The complexity of changing the type of consensus is very high. The operation of the entire network is changed, which is extremely complex, and in addition, new code is required.
Another difficulty is that past events (PoW-based blocks) must still be valid. This means that both strings should be able to be read without major problems. Although this is not in principle the most complicated part at the moment, it will be a problem when the network is fragmented.
There are thousands of code-level changes, and any error in the code can lead to disaster. Not a little ago smart contracts deployed that have programming errors and end up blocking funds. Even as in the case of The DAOwhere funds were drained and great conflict was generated.
Initially, the ethereum merger update (the name the Ethereum Foundation gives to Etherum 2.0) was scheduled for June. Beiko TeamEthereum Foundation developer, tweeted that Ethereum 2.0 Update Delayed for Year End.
It won’t be in June, but probably in the next few months. No firm date yet, but we are definitely in the final chapter of PoW on Ethereum
-Tim Beiko | timbeiko.eth 🔥🧱 (@TimBeiko) April 12, 2022
Parathi Jayanthi, Ethereum DevOps builder gave more information. As he said on Twitter, there are “errors ranging from sync code to request timeout.”
It is not certain that by the end of the year all the corrections will be made, there is a possibility of further delays. As we can see, it looks like there is still a lot of work to polish the code.
Mining does not start or end in Ethereum
Currently, Ethereum is the network, superseding Bitcoin, with the most computing power. Indeed, anyone with a graphics card can start mining Ethereum. Some computer knowledge is required, but not much, as there are many tutorials on setting up an Ethereum mining rig.
The advantage of graphics cards over ASICs is their versatility. A ASIC for bitcoin mining can only be used for this cryptocurrency because it was used for a certain algorithm. But, there are many cryptocurrency algorithms meant for graphics cards. This means that an Ethereum mining rig can be converted into a rig for another cryptocurrency simply by running other software.
We can use the same team Mining for Ravencoin which uses the KawPow algorithm, designed for graphics. We can also choose the ERGO Mining which uses the Autolykos algorithmClassic Ethereum which uses the Etchash algorithm or TO SMILE which uses the Cuckatoo32 algorithm. Note that these are just a few examples, there are many other cryptocurrencies that use graphics-enabled algorithms.
Therefore, we will be able to continue using new mining platforms but with other cryptocurrencies. Profitability may be a little lower, or maybe not. It is possible that when the migration into Ethereum is complete and the miners will fetch other altcoinsthese go up. But hey, since these are gaming graphics, they can still be sold second-hand.
