• The Ethereum Ropsten testnet will undergo The Merge upgrade next week setting up the stage for the Ethereum mainnet upgrade in August 2022.
• Developers said Node operators must run both an execution and consensus layer client to remain on the network during and after The Merge.

Ethereum developers are making good progress toward the blockchain’s upcoming upgrade ‘The Merge’. Earlier today, May 31, core Ethereum developer Tim Beiko announced the launch of a new Beacon Chain for Ropsten.

This is just the first step before the launch of ‘The Merge’ upgrade coming to Ropsten next week on June 8. Beiko announced:

Ethereum’s longest lived PoW testnet is moving to Proof of Stake! A new beacon chain has been launched today, and The Merge is expected around June 8th on the network.

The Ethereum developers also laid out two important steps to happen on Ropsten before The Merge. The first is that on June 2, the Beacon chain should activate the Bellatrix upgrade. Later, “a PoW total difficulty value, the Terminal Total Difficulty (TTD) will be chosen to trigger the transition.” says Beiko.

The Ropsten testnet serves as one of the biggest testing grounds for Ethereum. It mimics the Ethereum blockchain exactly to create a coding environment for transactions and other changes. The changes made to the Ropsten testnet do not directly affect the Ethereum mainnet.

The Merge upgrade on Ropsten will give a glimpse into what the real upgrade on the Ethereum mainnet will look like. Ethereum developers will get to analyze the resulting effects on the testnet and its applications. Furthermore, clients can also give developers the initial glimpses into what can happen on the mainnet Merge.

The Merge upgrade for Ethereum

The Merge has been one of the most awaited upgrades to the Ethereum blockchain. It will mark a major shift for the Ethereum network from the Proof-of-Work to the Proof-of-Stake.

The PoS Ethereum 2.0 will bring a ton of good changes in terms of network scalability, transaction fee, and much more. Besides, it will also reduce the Ethereum network’s energy consumption by more than 90 percent.

If everything is successful with the Ropsten testnet, we can expect The Merge upgrade to arrive on Ethereum mainnet by August 2022. In the Ethereum blog post, the developers mentioned the client release that supports The Merge on the Ropsten testnet. The blog post mentions:

Node operators must run both an execution and consensus layer client to remain on the network during and after The Merge. When choosing which client to run, validators should be especially mindful of the risks of running a majority client on both the EL and CL.

After a strong correction, Ethereum (ETH) entered a relief rally. In the last two days, the ETH price is up 8 percent and currently trading above $1950. However, a formidable surge past the $2,000 levels could lead to a potential trend reversal.