Ethereum Hits Major Milestone, Merges Oldest Testnet With Proof-Of-Stake Algorithm

Ropsten, Ethereum's oldest testnet, has transitioned to a proof-of-stake consensus algorithm following the successful merge with the beacon chain.

In what seems to be a rehearsal of the process that the main Ethereum network will undergo in just a few months, a team of developers hit a historic milestone when they successfully merged the Ropsten test network's proof-of-work execution layer with the proof-of-stake consensus chain the Beacon Chain.

Ropsten was first launched in 2016 and it enables blockchain development testing before it rolls out on the mainnet. While it is a lot similar to the mainnet, this testnet features major differences, including not putting any real funds at risk in the event of any technical difficulties.

The long-awaited Ethereum Merge consists of a complex process that entails several tests on different testnets and the recent Ropsten's merge, while the first of its kind, will inform devs of the next steps they need to take to move forward with the actual Merge of the mainet.

The highly anticipated Merger, expected to be completed this year, will see Ethereum transition from Proof-of-work to a Proof-of-Stake model. The blockchain is notorious for the high volume of transactions resulting in high gas fees.

After the Ropsten merge, developers need to complete a few more steps before the mainnet Merge. This includes the Ethereum testnets Goerli and Sepolia undergoing their own merges. The successful launch of the Merge will see an estimated 99.95 percent reduction in Ethereum's energy consumption and eventually, lower gas fees.

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin previously reminded users that even if the testnet successfully runs for a few hours, there are still risks involved. These risks include "MEV, staking, centralization and protection against DoS attacks that could bite us three weeks after the merge."

However, Buterin was a little bit more optimistic during the network upgrade countdown call on Wednesday. "We're hoping it’s going to be a good demonstration of just how far we've come. If everything goes well, it basically means that we're just a bit of polishing away from the merge being able to happen on mainnet," the Ethereum co-founder said.

ETH, the native token of Ethereum was trading up 0.87 percent at $1,824.37 with a 24-hour volume of $14,025,183,685 based on the latest data from CoinMarketCap.