Can 'the Merge' Save Crypto?
Briefly

Ethereum, the most popular crypto platform, appears to have successfully upgraded its software architecture from a type of blockchain known as "proof of work," which it has run since its inception in 2015, to a type of blockchain known as "proof of stake."
This upgrade, which came to be called, simply, "the merge," is already being heralded as a watershed moment in the history of crypto.
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I'm not so sure it will.
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Ethereum used to be secured by a network of high-powered computers that competed against each other to solve cryptographic puzzles, burning vast amounts of energy in the process.Now, it will be secured by a process known as "staking," which involves investors agreeing to deposit their crypto coins in a shared pool in exchange for a chance to earn financial rewards.
There are other benefits to the merge - it's expected to make Ethereum faster and more efficient in the long run - but the environmental footprint is the big, immediate improvement.
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The merge doesn't address any of that.
Read at Nytimes
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Nytimes1 year ago
Tech industry
Can 'the Merge' Save Crypto?
Ethereum, the most popular crypto platform, appears to have successfully upgraded its software architecture from a type of blockchain known as "proof of work," which it has run since its inception in 2015, to a type of blockchain known as "proof of stake."
...
And many crypto fans hope that it will turn things around for the crypto movement, which has been besieged in the past year by trillions of dollars in losses, a string of major scams and hacks and a new wave of regulatory scrutiny.
I'm not so sure it will.
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Ethereum used to be secured by a network of high-powered computers that competed against each other to solve cryptographic puzzles, burning vast amounts of energy in the process.Now, it will be secured by a process known as "staking," which involves investors agreeing to deposit their crypto coins in a shared pool in exchange for a chance to earn financial rewards.
There are other benefits to the merge - it's expected to make Ethereum faster and more efficient in the long run - but the environmental footprint is the big, immediate improvement.
Super helpful summary.
[ reply ]
Nytimes1 year ago
Tech industry
Can 'the Merge' Save Crypto?
Ethereum, the most popular crypto platform, appears to have successfully upgraded its software architecture from a type of blockchain known as "proof of work," which it has run since its inception in 2015, to a type of blockchain known as "proof of stake."
This upgrade, which came to be called, simply, "the merge," is already being heralded as a watershed moment in the history of crypto.
...
Ethereum used to be secured by a network of high-powered computers that competed against each other to solve cryptographic puzzles, burning vast amounts of energy in the process.Now, it will be secured by a process known as "staking," which involves investors agreeing to deposit their crypto coins in a shared pool in exchange for a chance to earn financial rewards.
There are other benefits to the merge - it's expected to make Ethereum faster and more efficient in the long run - but the environmental footprint is the big, immediate improvement.
...
The new Ethereum blockchain will still burn Ether, but it won't need to create as much new Ether to pay out rewards to participants.That means that the overall supply of Ether could shrink, increasing the value of existing coins.
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These regulators are worried about stablecoins, Ponzi schemes, state-sponsored ransomware attacks and investors losing their money to opaque crypto-lending schemes.
The merge doesn't address any of that.
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