Ethereum Is All Set for its 100,000 Transactions Per Second Upgrade
Vitalik Buterin, the founder of Ethereum, has announced that the Ethereum merge will increase the network’s transactions per second to 100,00. This transition from proof of work to proof of stake will be an energy-efficient process. The move also accomplishes a reduction in energy consumption, but the main highlight is the substantial increase in possible transactions.
Stages of the Ethereum Upgrade
Come September, the Ethereum blockchain will undergo a series of changes. The changes are divided into various stages, starting with Merge, Serge, Verge, Purge, and finally, Splurge. Each stage upgrades the network in a unique way. They are expected to improve the efficiency of the blockchain like never before.
The following details of each stage have been made publicly available:
Merge — Switching from proof of work to proof of stake is expected to reduce energy consumption by almost 95%. Validators will no longer be expected to provide massive computation power for rewards. Instead, they will be able to stake their holdings and earn rewards in ETH.
Serge — This update is focused on the scalability of the network. To do this, it implements a process known as Sharding. Sharding breaks data into smaller units. These units are then distributed across the network, thus reducing the load on any individual node.
This distribution involves several components of the database. These include the hash, time of the transaction and the public address of the receiver and the sender.
When networks grow, so does the burden. Each node re-records transactions already done on other nodes. To combat this processing challenge, sharding can be implemented to lessen the load on each node. This load is instead shared across the network.
Verge– An increase in scalability comes with a need for more stability on the network. The Verge upgrade will standard Merkle trees with Verkle trees, reducing the network’s verification load. This will ensure that the network remains stable while increasing the number of transactions.
Purge– This stage is responsible for moving away from legacy systems. This includes historical data and “technical debt”. Gas fee will also be modified at this stage. This is the transaction fee paid by users for using the network.
When you make a transaction on the network, a gas fee must be paid. This is a payment to miners to include the transaction on the public ledger. For a transaction to be approved, it must first be added to the network and validated by miners.
Gas fees are determined dynamically. When the network is under immense load, the gas fee can reach astronomical amounts. In some cases, this fee can exceed the price of the digital asset you wish to buy.
Higher gas fees can usually be explained by congestion on the network. The Purge process seeks to reduce this congestion. Reducing the gas fee could increase the number of transactions users are willing to make. It may also incentivise new users to begin using the Ethereum network.
Splurge– Account abstraction, short-term Miner Extractable Value (MEV) mitigation, and other such miscellaneous activities will take place at this stage.
Final Thoughts
While it may be difficult to grasp all the changes at once, they are essential to the future of the Ethereum network. These well-thought-out expansion plans are setting a high bar for other blockchains in the industry.
The Merge and its subsequent stages are among the most anticipated events in the crypto industry. Currently, the Ethereum Network is capable of almost 25 transactions per second. An increase to 100,000 TPS leaves everything else in the dust.
The upgrade is a blessing for the Ethereum community. It is set to speed up transactions while reducing gas fees. This will also enable developers to create more with smart contracts and other applications. The improvements are nothing short of a marvel, but only time will tell how seamless and successful they are.
