Ethereum Merge: o que significa para pagamentos de criptomoedas? (Paulina L)

The switch to Ethereum PoS, previously known as Ethereum 2.0, can be easily credited as the event of the decade in the crypto industry. Riddled with multiple technical issues and subject to numerous postponements, it looks like the transition is finally nudging closer to its final stage. The announced Ethereum Merge date was between September 13 and September 19. Once Ethereum 2.0 got put in place, the entire industry transformed in an instant causing massive changes to the landscape of the crypto market. Still, ordinary users, as well as businesses are among the main beneficiaries of this transformation. 

Pontos chave:

• O Ethereum Merge transformará a rede em um blockchain Proof-of-Stake.
• Ethereum 2.0 será mais escalável e energeticamente eficiente.

O que é Ethereum 2.0 e a fusão?

Vamos conhecer a tecnologia por trás do Ethereum 2.0 e os detalhes da próxima fusão.

Ethereum 2.0

 

Any type of system, be it some computer software or a car, at some point, during its lifetime requires an upgrade that can fix some of its problems. Ethereum 2.0 is exactly that only applied to blockchain technology. Basically, Ethereum 2.0 is an upgrade to the Ethereum network which manifests itself in the shift from Proof-of-Work to Proof-of-Stake. In other words, Ethereum is getting a new consensus mechanism governing its network operations. The switch to the Proof-of-Stake consensus model will allow ETH holders to stake their coins in order to generate rewards for their contribution.

A fusão ETH

A fusão do Ethereum é um termo usado para descrever o processo de união do Ethereum à camada de execução existente do Ethereum (a Mainnet) com a nova camada de consenso de Prova de Participação, a Beacon Chain.

Currently, the Beacon Chain is separated from Mainnet. So, the Ethereum mainnet remains to be secured by proof-of-work with all accounts, balances, smart contracts, and blockchain state, while the Beacon Chain runs in parallel using proof-of-stake. The Merge that will happen in a few days will make these two systems finally come together, which will cause the proof-of-work consensus to be replaced permanently by Proof-of-Stake.

O que exatamente aconteceu durante a fusão?

A prova de trabalho tem protegido a rede principal Ethereum desde o seu início. É o mecanismo de consenso que alimenta o bom e velho blockchain Ethereum que todos amamos. Ajuda a registrar transações, contratos inteligentes e saldos.

Yet, the Ethereum developers have always wanted to eventually switch the network to Proof-of-Stake. As a result of developers’ efforts, the Beacon Chain was finally founded on December 1, 2020. The Beacon Chain became a separate network, which now has been operating for almost two years, running in parallel to the Mainnet.

Mainnet transactions have not been processed by the Beacon Chain. Instead, it reaches a consensus on its own network by agreeing on active validators and their account balances. Yet, soon, the Beacon Chain will become the consensus mechanism for all network data after the Merge, including execution layer transactions and account balances.

The Merge marks the official adoption of the Beacon Chain as the engine of block creation. Thus, mining will cease to be used to generate valid blocks. Instead, Proof-of-Stake validators will take up this function, assessing the authenticity of all transactions and proposing blocks.

Nenhuma história será perdida. Quando a Mainnet e a Beacon Chain forem fundidas, todo o histórico transacional do Ethereum será combinado.

Benefícios da mudança do Ethereum para prova de aposta

AMPLIAR

 

Ethereum can only analyze a certain amount of information in a given length of time since each block is mined consecutively and there is a fixed amount of data that can be stored in each block (so, the block size is limited). If the number of outstanding transactions exceeds the capacity of a block, the remaining transactions must wait for the next block to be generated, and so on. The deployment of sharding on the PoS network will address this scalability issue.

The Ethereum blockchain will be divided into 64 distinct chains which are named shard chains. These chains will run in parallel to one another and will interact as a result of sharding. Sharding improves scalability by allowing Ethereum to handle many transactions at the same time: 64 blocks at a time, potentially.

Posteriormente, as empresas que aceitam pagamentos em ETH receberão suas moedas mais rapidamente graças a um melhor rendimento da rede.

Acessibilidade

Miners have played a critical role in the construction and maintenance of the Proof-of-Work version of the Ethereum blockchain. Yet, in order to become a miner, Individuals must acquire and install expensive hardware such as graphics cards. To make significant returns from block rewards, people will almost certainly need to live in a place with reduced power expenses.

Moreover, decreased power prices are usually offered to companies and corporations, implying that a miner seeking higher returns would also need to set up an enterprise and acquire sufficient mining hardware to rationalize their efforts. Several of the largest mining corporations outcompete the bulk of normal blockchain users in terms of network maintenance, resulting in centralization, the very thing every blockchain tries to avoid. 

Ethereum 2.0 seeks to make participating in the network more accessible for ordinary users. PoS will involve staking, so there will not be any need for purchasing expensive equipment. Users will simply have to lock their ETH coins in a smart contract to benefit from the blockchain.

Assim, as empresas que aceitam ETH terão a chance de apostar suas moedas e, como resultado, obter mais ETH.

Sustentabilidade

 

The switch to Proof-of-Stake will also remove the need for energy-intensive mining. The PoW version of Ethereum requires a substantial volume of electricity. So, its current power consumption is comparable to that of Chile, while its carbon footprint is on the same level as Finland’s.

Basicamente, o Ethereum consome muita energia, o que não é sustentável e deve ser consertado. 

A Proof-of-Stake mechanism is a perfect solution for addressing the power-consumption problem. Since PoS networks rely on validators staking their tokens, there is no demand for mining equipment. According to recent estimates, Ethereum 2.0 will consume around 2.62 megawatts of electricity which is similar to the power volume required by a small town with a couple of thousand homes. Given that Ethereum is a massive ecosystem of thousands of apps, this is quite an impressive result.

As empresas poderão usar a ETH como método de pagamento sustentável.

Segurança

Ethereum 2.0 is also much more secure than the previous version of the network. A Proof-of-Work mechanism is a rather centralized system since it is run by a small group of miners, which subsequently reduces network security. Ethereum 2.0 will have at least 16k validators to make the network run, which turns the network into a much more decentralized system. Basically, validators put their coins into smart contracts which is called staking. Therefore, the more coins these people stake the more they have to lose, which reinforces the security of the network making it safer for everyone.

Os gateways de pagamento suportam Ethereum 2.0?

Many crypto gateways announced their support of Ethereum PoS. For instance, NOWPayments began supporting Ethereum 2.0 as soon as the Merge happened. The clients do not face any difficulty using the new version of the network. Moreover, if a hard fork happens and some Ethereum users decide to keep the old PoW version network running, there also will be an option to accept ETHW payments. 

Perguntas frequentes

A ETH 2 é uma moeda nova?

Não haverá nenhuma nova moeda criada como resultado do Ethereum 2.0, então você pode continuar usando a mesma moeda ETH após a fusão.

O gás ficará mais barato após a fusão?

A posição oficial da Fundação Ethereum sobre as taxas de rede no Ethereum 2.0 afirma que não haverá alterações significativas no tamanho das taxas.

Como o The Merge me afetará?

A fusão não afetará os usuários, incluindo os parceiros da NOWPayments, de forma considerável, então você não precisará alterar nada ou fazer ajustes quando o Ethereum 2.0 estiver aqui.

O que é “Fragmentação Ethereum”?

Ethereum Sharding é uma abordagem inovadora para aumentar a eficiência da rede que envolve a divisão da blockchain em cadeias menores.

O que acontecerá com o Ethereum quando o 2.0 for lançado?

Após a fusão, Ethereum tornou-se uma rede mais segura, escalável e sustentável.