Ethereum developers have reached another milestone towards transforming the blockchain from the energy-intensive, proof-of-work (PoW) consensus method for approving transactions, to a proof-of-stake approach ( PoS), more ecological. Called Ethereum Merge, the PoW to PoS migration was successfully initiated in the second of its three test networks.
This sets the stage for the implementation of the latest test network over the course of the summer, with a planned final “go live” launch on the actual Ethereum blockchain later in the year. Merge has been widely touted as a meaningful scheduling solution that will alleviate virtually all criticism of the Ethereum network, including high transaction fees, low throughput, slow settlement times compared to newer blockchains, and network congestion. .
The native cryptocurrency of the Ethereum blockchain, the Ether (quotation ETH), rose steadily following the news and is up more than 19% for the week to $ 1.216 per coin on cryptocurrency exchanges. This is more than double the 8% increase in Bitcoin over the same period.
Is it time to buy Ethereum?
It cannot be denied that the Ethereum blockchain has the largest number of developer applications in the cryptocurrency space. And despite the current cryptocurrency slump, Ethereum still handles the majority of transactions for popular uses of the Web3, such as NFT trading and decentralized finance offerings.
Furthermore, the Ethereum supply is steadily moving towards a deflationary level, as more ETH coins are removed from circulation as intentional compensation to the newly minted coins. Since the Ethereum Enhancement Proposal (EIP) -1559 was launched in August 2021, more than 2,51 million ETH has been burned, producing a net supply reduction of 56,34% according to WatchTheBurn.com.
While not a financial advice, and bearing in mind that investors should always know their risk tolerances and conduct their own research, Ethereum is a top-tier digital asset that will successfully emerge from the current cryptocurrency winter - sooner or later. Investors who do not take advantage of these currently low entry points may regret it in the future.
