Ethereum Merged! (...now what?)
Happy Merge Day everyone!
(We're actually writing this before The Merge takes place, so fingers crossed it all went smoothly).
People like to talk about The Merge as if it's the crypto equivalent of the moon landing, but it's only one piece of the Ethereum puzzle.
Now that it has taken place, ETH is 55% complete...so what're the next steps?
In order of execution, we have the Surge, Verge, Purge, and Splurge (not a joke). Here's what they'll each do:
Surge
Now that we're post Merge, the Ethereum network can handle up to 100,000 transactions per second...but it doesn't mean it will right out of the gates.
To crack those sort of speeds, ETH is relying on layer 2 blockchains to do the heavy lifting.
Layer 2's like Polygon will verify a bunch of transactions themselves, give them the green light - and all the Ethereum network will need to do is accept them.
The Surge will make these layer 2's easier and cheaper to operate, hopefully incentivizing more of them to be created.
Verge
Right now, if you want to plug your computer into the Ethereum network and use it to validate transactions / earn ETH - you need a bunch of storage.
Because you're required to host a text file that lists every Ethereum transaction ever made (it's almost 1TB, and it's growing each day).
The Verge aims to remove this hefty storage requirement, allowing waaay more people to join in and start validating - making the network more decentralized and secure.
Purge
The Purge, does what The Verge did, but for Ethereum storage. Less space will be required on a hard drive in order to store Ethereum, which will give us more space on our phones and hardware wallets.
Not a game changer, but appreciated.
Splurge
The Splurge is “all of the other fun stuff,” according to Vitalik.
That's literally all we know for now, but we're guessing it'll most likely be a bunch of minor tweaks and general maintenance.
Kinda like when you retire and get really into lawn care and general home improvement.
So when will it all be completed?
The roadmap is estimated to be completed over the next 5 to 6 years - and it all starts today, with The Merge.
