ethereum 2.0 - Pwim.Net

Ethereum 2.0 Developer Says Phase 0 Most Likely Delayed Until 2021, Vitalik Buterin Disagrees

The much-awaited Phase 0 of Ethereum 2.0, also known as Serenity, may not be launched until the beginning of 2021. This was announced by one of the project’s researchers, Justin Drake on Reddit—much to the confusion of Ethereum creator Vitalik Buterin.

Ethereum developer, Justin Drake announced the delay to Serenity’s Phase O in a Reddit ‘Ask me Anything Session’—where he was quizzed on the potential date for the network upgrade. Since Vitalik Buterin announced Ethereum 2.0, its features and development process back in October 2019, the Ethereum community has enthusiastically anticipated the project’s launch date.

While the Reddit session showed that the members of the community are not pleased with the delayed launch, Drake stated that the upcoming holidays will interfere with other programs required to perfect before the project goes live.

Vitalik Buterin Publically Disagrees

As outlined by Justin Drake, the project has a bit more ground to cover before it can go live. The Ethereum Foundation’s strive to implement a public testnet with 3+ clients is one of the primary causes of the delay. This multi-client testnet will have to run smoothly for about 2-3 months according to the developer. An incentivized “attack net” must also run for 2-3 months as well as a bounty program and a serious differential fuzzing across clients. Justin argued that all these are not feasible in the third quarter of 2020 and that the launch will most likely coincide with Bitcoin’s 12th anniversary, January 3, 2021.

Vitalik Buterin, one of the Ethereum Network’s creators, outright disagreed on the proposed delay to launching in 2020. He argued:

“Eth1 took 4 months from the first multi-client testnet to launch (~end of March 2015 Olympic to end of May 2015 for eth1 launch), and I’d argue the four-month clock started ticking for us at the beginning of July when Altona launched. Eth2 phase 0 is in some ways simpler than eth1 and in some ways more complex: more complex PoS, but no complicated GPU-oriented PoW; more optimization required, but no complicated VM, etc etc. I’m inclined to say eth2 phase 0 is a little simpler on-net. Also, eth2 is not going to have any critical applications depending on it until phase 1, so the practical risks of breakage are lower (though you could argue the ecosystem as a whole is bigger). So, on the whole, I see no reason to take more time for the eth2 phase 0 launch cycle than we did for the eth1 launch”

The anticipation of Ethereum 2.0 has sparked some bullish runs in Ethereum’s price in the past weeks. Currently, Ethereum’s price is $240.28 having lost 0.36% to the dollar in the past 24 hours.

Ethereum Calls On Hackers to Attack Ethereum 2.0 in Exchange for Bug Bounty

With Ethereum’s plans to launch its 2.0 protocol network, the open-source platform has also decided to tweak its blockchain project to perfection by calling all hackers and challenging them to break into two Ethereum 2.0 attack networks.

Ethereum Creates the “Hacking Challenge”

What an attack network basically entails is a virtual attempt to break into an organization’s network, without the necessary authentication access passwords and locks required. Usually, the objective of an attack network is simply to steal data or perform other malicious activities.

In the case of Ethereum’s public “attack network” launch, it is mainly to test the vulnerabilities and potential security loopholes of Ethereum 2.0, which consists of an upgrade from the Ethereum blockchain. The cryptocurrency platform hopes that with this “attack network” set in place, Ethereum 2.0 will be perfected — shortcomings of the blockchain may be brought to light with the challenge, that simple testing just won’t be able to reveal.

How to Overcome the Attack Networks

The goal of the attack challenge launched by Ethereum is to prevent finality for 16 consecutive epochs on a network. This means that in order to successfully accomplish the digital mission, hackers would need to be able to intercept “finality” from happening for at least 102 minutes (1 h 42 min). “Finality” simply refers to a type of faster on-chain communication, where a block transaction, once finalized, will not be reversible and will therefore not have to wait for multiple acknowledgments before proceeding forward.

The objective of these attack networks is for others to find potential vulnerabilities and security loopholes that simple testing might not reveal.

In exchange for hackers’ efforts, Ethereum will award a $5000 bounty for each individual hacker or hack group who successfully completes their request.

Ethereum Co-Founder Speaks of 2.0 Project

Vitalik Buterin, one of Ethereum’s most recognized co-founders, is particularly proud when speaking of his Ethereum 2.0, and he emphasizes the fact that the data capacity of the developing blockchain will be immense. However, as his blockchain ecosystem is still developing, the upgrade will not translate to higher scalable transactions, meaning that the blockchain will not necessarily process more transactions.

Another key feature of Ethereum 2.0 is the fact that it will run on a Proof-of-Stake consensus algorithm instead of the current Proof-of-Work Ethereum mainnet. This will enable users in the Ethereum network to lock up their accumulated digital coins and get paid for helping secure the blockchain.

Ethereum to Implement New "Devcon Improvement Proposals" for Devcon Colombia 2021

Ethereum gathering has announced a new way for its crypto community to get more involved for next year’s Devcon event.

What is Devcon?

Each year, Ethereum Foundation hosts a public gathering, dubbed “Devcon” for developers and members of their community. The goal of the event is to unite blockchain enthusiasts and coders under one roof to discuss how to build collectively, generate more ideas to further blockchain growth, and bounce innovative technological proposals off each other.

This year, Ethereum announced through their blog that they will be integrating a new aspect to Devcon, a concept they dub “Devcon Improvement Proposals” (DIP). Devcon Improvement Proposals are new tools set in place by the Devcon organizing team of Ethereum that aims to involve the community and integrate their input to improve the ETH ecosystem. Ethereum Foundation thinks that the inputs provided for DIP purposes will paint a better depiction of the Ethereum ecosystem in its entirety for Devcon attendees.

Devcon Improvement Proposal Categories

For each Devcon Improvement Proposal, there is a category to file and process the different ideas put forward by the community. There are four procedures – draft, accepted, postponed, and rejected. The categories are straightforward. Draft entails that the proposal will be tweaked and transformed into a better final version; accepted means that the Ethereum team has approved it; postponed dictates that the idea will not be adopted in this edition of Devcon; and finally, rejected entails that the idea will simply not be implemented.

Ethereum announced that next year’s event will be hosted in Colombia. For the time being, the conference still does not have a confirmed date. Devcon 2021 will be the sixth edition launched by Ethereum Foundation, the first being in 2014 in Berlin, Germany.

Progress on ETH 2.0 Testnet

Next year’s Devcon event will be fairly interesting, as the Ethereum Foundation has recently been developing its final testnet Medalla. This multi-client net is to be the last one released before Ethereum 2.0 rolls into play. Ethereum is aspiring to transition fully to a Proof-of-Stake consensus from a Proof-of-Work protocol, and currently boasts of high scalability for a blockchain, in comparison to Bitcoin.

At the beginning of this week, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin also discussed his blockchain project on Peter McCormack’s podcast episode, saying that he predicts Ethereum 2.0 mainnet to only be ready for public use in another 24 months.

The Ethereum co-founder is very proud of his team and is anticipating phase one of Medalla testnet, where sharding will be experimented to test out high scalability, a feature that is to be expected of the new chain. Speaking about Medalla’s progress and the current phase 0 implementation, Buterin said:

“It does not yet include sharding, that starts in phase one but for sharding, the spec is very close to finished so it’s just a matter of waiting for implementers to feel like they’ve done enough on the phase zero side and move onto phase one.”

60% of Ethereum Supply Has Been at a Standstill for More Than a Year—What's Next for ETH?

Ethereum has been making headways in the recent past because of its growing adoption in the booming decentralized finance (DeFi) sector, as well as other projects like decentralized applications (Dapps) and smart contracts. Nevertheless, its circulating supply has been limited because 60% of it has remained stagnant for more than a year, according to EthHub co-founder Antony Sassano.

Interesting times ahead as Ethereum 2.0 first approaches

EthHub avails resources and research to learn about Ethereum. Therefore, Sassano is well-versed in what transpires in this network.

He tweeted that more than half of all ETH has remained at a standstill, and with the launch of Ethereum 2.0 first approaching, it will be interesting to see what transpires pertaining to this number.

These statistics show the way people have been holding Ethereum coins in anticipation of the rollout of ETH 2.0, which was scheduled for February, but delays have been inevitable.

Some developments have been happening in the Ethereum network. For instance, Zinken, a short-term rehearsal testnet launch by developers to prepare for the official release of Ethereum 2.0 mainnet’s Phase 0, was recently unveiled, unlike its precedent Spadina. Its primary objective is for developers and stakers to practice the genesis process.

Zinken recorded high participation rates compared to Spadina because these numbers are fundamental to a blockchain’s health. The eagerly awaited Phase 0’s inauguration seems to have triggered a temporary rise in on-chain transfers.

$1.5 billion Bitcoin hosted on Ethereum network

According to metrics availed by Ethereum data firm Dune Analytics, nearly 131,455 Bitcoin is being held on the ETH network. This equates to 3.6% of Ethereum’s total market cap.

Therefore, it shows the confidence with which Bitcoin is being utilized on the ETH blockchain. For example, there has been a ten-fold increase in Bitcoin held in smart contracts since the beginning of June. The DeFi space has also lured Bitcoin enthusiasts.

Could DeFi’s Yield Farming Craze Hinder Ethereum 2.0’s Upcoming Launch?

According to a report by blockchain company ConsenSys, high yields gained from decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols running on the Ethereum (ETH) blockchain may be problematic for ETH 2.0 in the long run.

Ethereum (ETH) is planning on launching its second mainnet, which is an upgrade from the current one as it will run according to a Proof-of-Stake protocol, as opposed to a Proof-of-Work one. However, with Defi protocols offering high yields to Ethereum stakers, this may dry up funds on Ethereum 2.0 mainnet, as per the report released by ConsenSys researchers.

Per the official Q3 report from ConsenSys, researchers addressed the concern that DeFi may inhibit staking participation rate on Ethereum 2.0. This may be a huge dilemma for the ecosystem, as validator participation has been a problem pinpointed by Ethereum developers during the short-term blockchain “dress rehearsals” they launched in the past, namely on Medalla and Spadina.

However, a low participation rate would be highly problematic on Ethereum 2.0, to the detriment of the blockchain’s health. Per the report, ConsenSys researchers said:

“DeFi could be the number one threat to getting a significant amount of staking participation in Eth2.”

According to industry experts, a minimum of 32 Ether will be required to become a validator on ETH 2.0. This translates to roughly $12,300 per Ether’s current price. Luckily, staking pools make it a possibility for everyone to participate. In addressing the importance of having online validators and participation to maintain Ethereum 2.0 mainnet, the report read:

“If various DeFi protocols offer higher returns than Eth2 staking, ETH holders may elect to direct their ETH elsewhere, thus leaving Eth2 without the threshold of staked ETH required to render it sufficiently secure and decentralized.”

Ethereum 2.0’s first phase, which will feature a beacon chain, is expected to be launched before the end of the year. On the new chain, which will run in parallel with the current Ethereum blockchain, Ether that stakers input will be locked in, and transfers and withdrawals will not be possible until other phases of the blockchain come into play.

Although an exact date for Ethereum 2.0’s genesis has not yet been set in stone, the mainnet’s launch will potentially result in Ether trading higher, surpassing the $400 level.

Ether is currently trading at $377.36 on CoinGecko, displaying bearish momentum in the past week.

Raoul Pal Predicts that Ethereum Will Hit $20K by the End of the Year, as ETH Smashes a New All-Time High

Ethereum’s surge to hit a new all-time high (ATH) of $1,689 has shaken the entire crypto space, with investors impressed with the performance of the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization. In tandem with the new milestone, investment strategist and the CEO of Real Vision Group Raoul Paul has predicted that Ethereum (ETH) will grow further and reach a price level of more than $20,000 by the end of the year.

As reported by Blockchain.News, Ethereum has soared by more than 1,700% since March 2020, when it was trading at about $100 per Ether coin. The growth of Ethereum this year has been quite impressive as its rate of gain has remarkably beaten that of Bitcoin. According to Pal, while Ethereum has recorded about a 126% year-to-date increase, Bitcoin can only boast of a gain of around 30%.

Pal noted:

“ETH is up 126% YTD. It’s Feb 3rd, FFS! I still expect it to hit $20k by around the turn of the year.”

Pal is not alone on this, as many crypto proponents have largely described Ethereum as a highly undervalued cryptocurrency, at least when compared with Bitcoin. Ethereum has great utility in that it serves as the backbone for most decentralized finance (DeFi) applications and this increases its relevance in the space.

The new price discovery of Ethereum may however be interpreted in two ways. First, Ethereum bulls may be able to push the cryptocurrency’s price high in an effort to increase one’s profits, in which case, the rally may be short-lived. Secondly, the pump may be in response to the trust placed in Ethereum’s potential as it scales new opportunities in DeFi and the blockchain network migrates to Ethereum 2.0.

For what it is worth, however, the growth of Ethereum and its new ATH may be proof that the cryptocurrency’s future is not dependent on that of Bitcoin, and begs the question of whether Ethereum is undergoing a decoupling from Bitcoin.

Total Value Locked in Ethereum 2.0 Deposit Contract Reaches a New All-Time High of $6.5 Billion

Ethereum is retracing back from some of the accrued gains it acquired at the beginning of the week, dropping by 2.30% to trade at $1,803.97 at the time of writing, according to CoinMarketCap.

This price correction which in part is a response to the short-term sell-offs from market bears comes amid a growing valuation of the total value of the assets locked in the Ethereum 2.0 contract address.

Per the figures pulled from Glassnode, an analytics platform, the total value of locked assets in the Ethereum 2.0 deposit smart contract just reached an ATH of $6,467,550,120.47, surpassing the ATH of $6,442,945,942.67 was observed on 20 February 2021.

The Ethereum blockchain is one of the most troubled networks out there today with the challenge of high fees remarkably pushing users off to other competing networks like the Binance Smart Chain. The Ethereum Foundation has been in a constant search for a final solution to these high gas fees to the benefit and relief of over 3,000 decentralized applications that have made the network the foundation.

The roll-out of Ethereum 2.0 is one of the ways it is looking to achieve this. ETH 2.0 is a Proof-of-Stake (PoS) model that will offer scalability at a relatively low cost as the process of verifying transactions will shift from the miners to network validators – those staking Ether that is pushing the Ethereum 2.0 ambition towards reality.

Price falls or corrections are unavoidable in the crypto space, but the constant increment in the deposited value in Ethereum 2.0 is an indication that the true market bulls are unmoved by the fleeting price drops and have trust in the future prospects of the Ethereum network, especially when the PoS network will be fully operational.

Ethereum Battles Resistance as Exchange Inflow Volume Drops

Ethereum, the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization is seeing consistent resistance in its bid to reclaim the $2,000 psychological price level.

According to CoinMarketCap, Ethereum joins Bitcoin in initiating a slight dip in the crypto market. Ether is currently trading at $1,814.79, down 1.03% in the past 24 hours after parring off some of its losses in the early hours of the day.

The resistant battle of Ethereum is however not backed by some on-chain metrics. As outlined by Glassnode, Ethereum Exchange Inflow Volume (7d MA) just reached a 1-month low of 15,477.056 ETH, showing the lack of momentum in a push by market bears to liquidate their Ethereum holdings. While the metrics are silent on where the bulk of the Ether in circulation is going, Decentralized Finance (DeFi) data provider, DeFi Pulse reveals that the total ETH locked in smart contracts surged from 8.745 million on March 17, up to 9.226 million today March 19th.

With the bulk of Ethereum going into smart contracts, a new position has been ascertained, noting that Ethereum’s high gas fee woes are not a factor in preventing holders from taking advantage of the other benefits the network offers.

Meitu scoops up more Ethereum than BTC

The Ethereum market is also not showing off the impact of Meitu scooping up more ETH than Bitcoin in its recent purchase. Blockchain.news reported earlier that the Chinese software firm allocated $50 million into crypto, with the bulk of the funds invested in Ethereum.

The clamour for the positive future prospects of Ethereum is growing by the day as the crypto space anticipates the implementation of the EIP 1559 upgrade, as well as the long haul to the full migration to Ethereum 2.0 – the proposed Proof-of-Stake model that will help secure the system more and provide the needed scalability.

Crypto Addresses Holding At Least 100 Ethereum Hit 19-Month Low as 8.2% of Circulating ETH Locked in DeFi

Ethereum has been bearish since it surged past the psychological mark of $2,000.

The second-largest cryptocurrency based on market capitalization has been down by 6% from the past week to trade at $1,682 at press time, according to CoinMarketCap.

New data by on-chain data provider Glassnode reveals that the number of crypto addresses holding more than 100 ETH has hit a 19-month low of 45,518. These addresses are from centralized exchanges, as alluded to by digital asset firm Bloqport.

It, therefore, shows a holding culture because more ETH is being stored in cold storage or being locked in ecosystems like decentralized finance (DeFi).

Bloqport acknowledged:

“According to DefiPulse, 9.2 million Ether—around 8.2% of the circulating ETH supply—is now locked in the DeFi ecosystem.”

The boom in the non-fungible token (NFT) and DeFi sectors have boosted Ethereum’s bull run, but this has been derailed by high gas fees, which recently hit an all-time high – with an average transaction fee of over $30. This proved detrimental because it made the DeFi sector almost entirely impractical to use for the majority of retail traders.

ETH deposits in ETH 2.0 break the record

Ever since Ethereum 2.0 was launched in December 2020, it continues gaining momentum because it is seen as the silver lining needed to eradicate the stalemate being experienced in the current proof of work consensus mechanism.

As outlined by on-chain data analytics provider Glassnode, the “total value in the ETH 2.0 Deposit Contract recently reached an ATH of 3,559,106 ETH.”

Investors are betting big on Ethereum 2.0 because it is touted as a game-changer when solving issues like the high gas fees experienced in the ETH network, which have proven detrimental. For instance, users are seeking cheaper alternatives, and this has been one of the reasons why Ethereumès price has been nosediving.

Ethereum’s Sideways Consolidation to Continue as Indicator Shows ETH is Currently Undervalued

Ethereum (ETH) finds itself in a consolidation state ever since it breached the $2,000 mark a while back.

The second-largest cryptocurrency based on market capitalization is hovering around the $1,643 price at the time of writing, according to CoinMarketCap.

Market trader and analyst Michael van de Poppe has noted that ETH’s sideways consolidation will continue until a bottoming construction comes up. He explained:

“Ethereum is still fine here, despite the further dropdowns. Sideways consolidation, while a bottoming construction should be close.”

Ethereum’s high gas fees challenge

ETH has been grappling with the challenge of high gas fees. As a result, its price has been nosediving, given that some users are seeking cheaper alternatives.

EIP-1559, an Ethereum Improvement Protocol set to launch in July, has been touted as a game-changer that will address the issue of rising gas fees on the network.

Nevertheless, an “Ethereum Gas Report” by CoinMetrics data analytics shows that Ethereum’s EIP 1559 upgrade may not resolve this issue as the best bet is on Ethereum 2.0, which seeks to offer a transition to a proof-of-stake consensus mechanism from the current proof-of-work.

Investors are betting big on Ethereum 2.0 ever since it went live in December 2020 because the amount of ETH staked continues to grow by the day. As recently outlined by on-chain data analytics provider Glassnode, the “total value in the ETH 2.0 Deposit Contract recently reached an ATH of 3,559,106 ETH.”

Ethereum is currently undervalued

According to technical and on-chain analyst Ali Martinez, the MVRV ratio is around -3.93%, showing Ethereum is currently undervalued. He acknowledged:

“The MVRV, which measures the average profit/loss of addresses that acquired Ethereum in the past month, also favors the bulls. Each time the MVRV moves below 0%, a bullish impulse tends to follow. The MVRV ratio is now hovering at -3.93%, indicating ETH is currently undervalued.”

Time will tell whether ETH 2.0 will be a game-changer in eradicating the high gas fees problem currently experienced on the Ethereum network.