Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap, has successfully tested the “Merge,” which is now planned for mid-September 2022. The Merge is what engineers are calling the transition of the Ethereum blockchain’s Proof-of-Work (PoW) consensus mechanism to Proof-of-Stake (PoS).

What does that mean and why do you care?

PoS is more energy efficient than PoW, so the Merge will help the more than 3,400 decentralized finance (DeFi) projects that use the Ethereum blockchain be more environmentally friendly. PoS should also offer Ethereum users a higher number of transactions per second (tps) along with the potential for greater scale.

The Merge has been delayed so many times that I’m not sure it’s really going to happen, but I hope it does. A bunch of tweets from the engineers involved suggest that a more exact date range for the Merge will be approved next week. Fingers crossed.

If you’re wondering what will happen to the price of ETH after the Merge, so is everyone else. I’m not a financial advisor, so if you’re looking for investment advice, you should contact yours. With that out of the way, the Merge will change the foundational principles of ETH. The existing miners are going to have to change the way they interact with the Ethereum blockchain, and the economics will change as well.

Author’s note: This is not a sponsored post. I am the author of this article and it expresses my own opinions. I am not, nor is my company, receiving compensation for it.

About Shelly Palmer

Shelly Palmer is the Professor of Advanced Media in Residence at Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and CEO of The Palmer Group, a consulting practice that helps Fortune 500 companies with technology, media and marketing. Named LinkedIn’s “Top Voice in Technology,” he covers tech and business for Good Day New York, is a regular commentator on CNN and writes a popular daily business blog. He's a bestselling author, and the creator of the popular, free online course, Generative AI for Execs. Follow @shellypalmer or visit shellypalmer.com.

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