Ethereum's current Proof of Work Mechanism enters "Final Chapter!" Groundbreaking "Merge" is Postponed, however.

The Merge marks the culmination of a long journey for the Ethereum community. As excitement continues to mount around the so-called Merge, Ethereum Foundation developer Tim Beiko has hinted that enthusiasts will have to wait a few months longer.

For those new to the Ethereum world, the Merge is the long-awaited switch from the proof-of-work (PoW) consensus mechanism to proof-of-stake (PoS). The Merge is viewed as a massive development for Ethereum that will significantly improve the network's environmental impact as well as make it faster and cheaper to transact.

This is because the next phase of Ethereum will let the second-largest blockchain's security rely on staked tokens instead of the supposedly power-hungry mining equipment.

The merge between the mainnet and the Beacon Chain proof-of-stake system was slated for the second quarter of this year. But Tim Beiko revealed that it has been pushed to Q3/2022. "It won't be June, but likely in the few months after," the core ETH developer said in a Tuesday tweet.

Beiko went on to affirm that Ethereum's present computation-intensive PoW is in its "final chapter." "I would strongly suggest not investing more in mining equipment at this point," he said in response to a miner going by the online alias TripleSack, as ETH mining will soon become obsolete. He further adds that with the Merge, non-fungible tokens will get easier and cheaper to transact, booming the NFT space and increasing the market capitalization of protocols like Sandbox, Axie Infinity, Plastiks, and Enjin.

Beiko's update comes after Ethereum successfully implemented its first mainnet "shadow fork" on April 11. The testnet created an environment for developers to better test their assumptions around the network's complex transition to PoS.

Given the history of delays dating back to 2016, when do you think the Merge will finally be "launched"? Personally, I don't believe it'll materialize in Q3. It may get delayed again.