After the initial delay and hold up, the threshold to launch Ethereum 2.0 mainnet has been reached as the contract now has enough funds required for the first phase of the 2.0 activation. As the Ethereum community anticipated the launch of phase 0 of Ethereum 2.0, the current proof-of-work [PoW] blockchain, has now reached the required target of 1st December.
Previously TWJ had reported that the growth curve of user participation saw a significant decline due to the complexity involved in the transition to Ethereum 2.0 and the uncertain roadmap of staking rewards which also acted as a roadblock.
In order for the deposit contract to activate that phase at least 16,384 validators are needed to lock more than 524,288 ETH, the genesis threshold to be reached by 24 November, i.e. a week before the deadline. Just 50% of the required target has been delegated until the very last day. However, in the last 24 hours, Ethereum raced the clock to collect enough coins and blasted past the target with a couple of more hours to spare.
Ethereum 2.0 Upgrade
This formally marks the beginning of the Ethereum network’s shift from a PoW consensus mechanism to a Proof-of-Stake [PoS] in a bid to solve a host of issues including the perennial problem of Ethereum’s scalability While the current Ethereum network can only support around 30 tps; thus causing delays and congestion, 2.0, on the other hand, promises up to 100,000 tps with the implementation of shard chains.
Phase 0 will witness the implementation of the Beacon Chain; which is involved with storing and managing the registry of validators and deploying the PoS consensus mechanism for Ethereum 2.0. This chain will run alongside the existing Ethereum network and will not affect existing users nor the decentralized applications [DApps] on Ethereum. Furthermore, there will be no break in data continuity.
Ethereum 2.0 Bolsters Rally
Reaching the threshold was no less than a milestone for the network which has been plagued by scalability as well as security issues. This, in turn, has further triggered a massive rally for the token, ETH which blew past the $600-mark after more than 2 years.
As the world’s largest altcoin demonstrated strong bullish momentum, it was trading close to a crucial overhead resistance of $619. If ETH manages to breach this level, it is likely to enter the $700 to $900 range respectively as very little resistance was found in the region.