The long-awaited Merge update was launched on the Ropsten testnet earlier this week by Ethereum developers. However, on a Friday session, the developers chose to postpone the difficulty bomb, which is raising concerns within the Ethereum community.
A “difficulty bomb” is specific code that increases the computational complexity of mining ETH on the Ethereum blockchain network. It is intended to force miners off the Ethereum blockchain as the network prepares to transition to proof-of-stake (PoS).
However, postponing the difficulty bomb would enable miners extra time to remain on the Ethereum network. This indicates that the execution of the ‘The Merge’ update on the Ethereum mainnet could be further delayed.
Although many consider the Ropsten Merge event a success, the Ethereum developers have all worked to overcome the issues. There is currently no fixed date for the implementation of The Merge on the Ethereum mainnet. Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum, said that “if no major hurdles arise, it could happen as quickly as August 2022.”
The move to postpone the difficulty bomb has generated fears that it would cause more delays in the PoS switch. During the call on Friday, a speaker named Thomas Jay Rush stated, “Postponing buys us time. It harms the community, but there is little one can do about it.”
Ethereum merger by the end of the year?
Vitalik Buterin said last month that if the devs wanted more time, they could extend The Merge update to September/October. According to Ethereum lead engineer Tim Beiko, there is a 1-10% possibility that the merger will not take place in 2022.
Beiko justified the current postponement of the difficulty bomb by expressing concern about developer exhaustion to complete the Merge.
He continued, “maybe we’re still not up to mainnet code.”
This decision has dulled the hype around Ethereum’s Merge upgrading.
