What Changes Will Ethereum 2.0 Bring?
The Ethereum network has seen bottlenecks simply because of its sheer activity. For instance, the gas fees paid to miners for their work sometimes reach extraordinarily high levels. It can improve after Ethereum 2.0, as validators who stake Ether will be responsible for securing the network. These validators have to lock in 32 Ether as part of the bargain. While 32 Ether is still a high barrier to entry, there are alternative ways for those with smaller holdings of Ether or the technically unaware of joining in.
Proof of stake is faster and more eco-friendly than proof of work, as it consumes far less power. It is expected that PoS will increase the network’s scalability and decrease its energy usage by roughly 99.95%.
Currently, the network can handle about 25 to 30 transactions, but Ethereum 2.0 promises to handle 100,000 transactions per second.
That scalability level will be achieved by implementing the sharding technique. This change will see 64 “shard chains” put to use, which run through transactions in parallel. It is theoretically 64 times faster in recording transactions than the current Ethereum network.
With proof of stake and sharding, Ethereum has completed the biggest evolutions in its history. It is not without reason that many market analysts and industry insiders are playing up the transition, as it will have a profound effect on the operation of various niches, not the least of