Ethereum 2.0 and the changes it will bring to the mainnet have been talked about for several years now. One of the biggest changes is moving from proof-of-work consensus to proof-of-stake. This change means that Ethereum (ETH) mining will pass away, but when will this event happen?
One of the reasons behind abandoning Proof-of-Stake (PoW) is the high energy consumption required for this process. Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consumes less energy, although it brings other important risks. The first of these is security, since the verification and validation process is simplified. The second is in centralization, because 32 ETH will be required to have a validator node.
When will Ethereum 2.0 and its switch to PoS arrive?
Vitalik Buterin , one of the creators of Ethereum, has been working for years along 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, something that 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 the two strings must be able to be read without major problems. Although this in principle is not the most complicated part right now, it will be a problem when the network is fragmented.
There are thousands of changes at the code level, and any error in the code can lead to catastrophe. There are not a few deployed smart contracts that have programming errors and end up blocking funds. Even, as in the case of The DAO , where the funds were drained and a great conflict was generated.
Initially, the Ethereum Merge (Ethereum Foundation’s name for Etherum 2.0) update was scheduled for June. Tim Beiko , a developer at the Ethereum Foundation, has indicated on Twitter that the Ethereum 2.0 update is delayed to the end of the year .
It won’t be June, but likely in the few months after. No firm date yet, but we’re definitely in the final chapter of PoW on Ethereum
—Tim Beiko | timbeiko.eth 🔥🧱 (@TimBeiko) April 12, 2022
Parathi Jayanthi, Ethereum DevOps Engineer has given more information. As he said on Twitter, there are “errors ranging from the synchronization code to the request timeout.”
It is not certain that by the end of the year all the corrections will be made, there is the possibility of further delays. As we can see, it seems that there is still a lot of work to polish the code.
Mining neither begins nor ends in Ethereum
Currently, Ethereum is the network, removing Bitcoin, with the most computing power. This is because anyone with a graphics card can start mining Ethereum. Some computer knowledge is required, but not much, as there are many tutorials on how to set up an Ethereum mining rig.
The advantage of graphics cards over ASICs lies in their versatility. An ASIC for Bitcoin mining can only be used for this cryptocurrency as it has been used for a certain algorithm. But, there are many cryptocurrency algorithms intended for graphics cards. This means that an Ethereum mining rig can be converted into a rig for another cryptocurrency just by running other software.
We can use the same mining equipment for Ravencoin that uses the KawPow algorithm, intended for graphs. We can also choose to mine ERGO that uses the Autolykos algorithm , Ethereum Classic that uses the Etchash algorithm, or GRIN that uses the Cuckatoo32 algorithm. Note that these are some examples, there are many other cryptocurrencies that use graph-friendly algorithms.
Therefore, we will be able to continue using new mining rigs but with other cryptocurrencies. The profitability may be somewhat lower, or perhaps not. It is possible that when the migration in Ethereum is finished and the miners go for other altcoins , they will rise. But hey, since they are gaming graphics, they can always be sold second-hand.
