[MEGATHREAD] The Ethereum Merge

MERGE SUCCESSFUL!!!!!!

Thank you to all the researchers, devs, mods, and supporters. Much love ❤️

TLDR

Ethereum Mainnet will merge with the Beacon Chain proof-of-stake system, ending of proof-of-work (mining) for Ethereum. Finematics TLDR video

The Merge!

The Merge represents the joining of the existing execution layer of Ethereum (the Mainnet we use today) with its new proof-of-stake consensus layer, the Beacon Chain. (Formerly called Eth2)

It eliminates the need for energy-intensive mining and instead secures the network using staked ETH. A truly exciting step in realizing the Ethereum vision – more scalability, security, and sustainability. This will reduce Ethereum's energy consumption by ~99.95%.

The Merge is scheduled to happen on block 58,750,000,000,000,000,000,000 (that's a lot of zeros), so the actual date/time is a little bit of a moving target, but there are a few websites to help predict when that will be:

• https://bordel.wtf/
• https://wenmerge.com/

This is the first time a blockchain has swapped its consensus mechanism for another, live, uninterrupted.

FAQs

• Will this affect transaction fees? Gas fees will not change
• Will there be downtime? Zero downtime
• Will transaction speeds change? Not noticeably

Do I have to do anything?

If you own any Ethereum, ERC-20s (tokens), or ERC-721s (NFTs):

• Nope, enjoy :)

If you are a validator:

• Make sure your Beacon Chain Client is updated (lighthouse/lodestar/nimbus/prysm/teku)
• Make sure you have a suggested-fee-recipient configured
• Make sure your jwt secret is set properly from your execution engine client (geth/nethermind/etc...) in your beacon chain client config
• If you want to sanity check your setup, Somer Esat has great guides: https://someresat.medium.com/

If you a running a node:

• You will need to run a consensus client also, geth guide here and consensus guides here

If you are a miner:

• After the merge, blocks won't be produced by mining anymore, thus no block rewards.
• You will need to run a consensus client (see "running a node") if you want to keep running a node.

More Resources

• Finematics Video

• Ethereum.org on the merge

• Merge Announcment

Threads

• /r/CryptoCurrency Megathread
• /r/CyptoCurrency_Tech X-Posted Thread
• /r/Ethereum Merge Thread
• /r/EthStaker Merge Thread

Merge Parties!

Ethereum Foundation Merge Viewing Party! (Youtube)