There has been a lot of talk around Ethereum amid the growing hype of the upcoming Merge. Here is a rundown of the latest headlines you might have missed:
Ethereum addresses at a loss reach new high
Ethereum (ETH) price fell to its lowest figure so far this year over the weekend as the crypto market witnessed a mild correction toward the end of last week. The premier altcoin slid from $1,890 to $1,735 on Thursday before seeing further losses on Friday and Saturday. It has since recovered from the multi-month low of $1,721.26 and trading at $1,965.35 – 3.12% % in the green at the time of writing.
Ethereum holders have suffered the brunt of this month’s bearish cycle. Like many altcoins, Ether has seen a significant chunk of its value eroded, with the number of addresses at a loss reaching a record high, according to blockchain analytics platform Glassnode.
“Number of Addresses in Loss (7d MA) just reached an ATH of 34,966,535.202. Previous ATH of 34,951,221.250 was observed on 29 May 2022,” Glassnode’s on-chain alerts posted on Monday.
Core Ethereum dev announces Ropsten is moving to Proof of Stake
There has been a lot of talk about Ethereum’s keenly-awaited upgrade that will see the chain transition to a proof-of-stake consensus mechanism. Anticipation has continued building up despite the path to this switch being impeded by delays – the latest being a case of block reorganization. Though the snag wasn’t a major once, it raised doubts among some.
The Ethereum development team has hinted that the Merge event will take place soon (seemingly in August) based on the progress that has been made so far, but no final date has been.
Core Ethereum developer Tim Beiko today shared an update on testnet deployments that the Ropsten Beacon Chain had been launched.
“Ropsten beacon chain genesis was a success! Few validators are offline and expected due to testing,” pseudonymous user Terence.eth wrote.
The Ropsten testnet is preparing to execute the transition to PoS consensus and the Beacon chain will switch to merge-compatible protocols on June 2, the announcement read.
By obtaining glimpses of what happens in the testnet environment, developers will be able to address any issues that may arise when the Merge finally happens. As a testnet, Ropsten models itself on the aspects of the Ethereum mainnet, including its native token, Ether. It is one (and the oldest) of the testing grounds for changes to be implemented on the mainnet and alterations made on it don’t affect the real chain.
The Merge is the light at the end of the ‘bearish winter’ tunnel
The Ropsten Merge, which can really be viewed as the precursor for the final and real deal, is a pointer the Merge is not far away.
“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,” Beiko wrote.
There are still wrinkles to be ironed out so as to remain on schedule, and node operators need to be “ready to configure their clients accordingly on short notice.”
The Ropsten Merge will be succeeded by two more testnet deployments – on the Goerli and Sepolia – testnets. A shift of focus to the mainnet will then follow. The transition may also be tried on other testnets within the community but client developers won’t act on these upgrades.
ETH deposit in ETH 2.0 contract surpasses 10% of the total supply
Interest in ‘Ethereum 2.0’ is growing, going even beyond the developer community and spreading to the investor class. The latter group, seeking to take advantage of the rewards promised by the staking functionality, has continued making deposits.
ETH 2.0 total value staked is now just over 12.7 million as per the latest data from OKlink. This translates to a sum of almost 26 billion at current prices. More than 73,860 unique addresses have made deposits, Dune Analytics shows.
To learn more about Ethereum visit our Investing in Ethereum guide.
The post Ethereum Roundup: Ethereum Announces Ropsten Testnet Merge, ETH Addresses Out of Money Peak, Staked ETH Supply Reaches 10% appeared first on Securities.io.
