Ethereum network is expected to undergo scheduled network upgrade
The Ethereum network is expected to undergo a network upgrade scheduled for block 15,050,000, which is around Wednesday, June 29, 2022. This date is speculative, due to the size of the block, and could come sooner or later.
What is Gray Glacier?
The Gray Glacier network upgrade changes the parameters of the difficulty bomb, pushing it back by 700,000 blocks, or roughly 100 days. The difficulty bomb has been pushed back in five different network upgrades: Byzantium, Constantinople, Muir Glacier, London and the most recent Arrow Glacier network upgrade. Aside from that, Gray Glacier introduces no additional changes.
The Ethereum developer, Tim Beikois optimistic that the Gray Glacier upgrade could be the last delay of the difficulty bomb.
The difficulty bomb only impacts the Ethereum mainnet now that Ropsten has switched to proof of stake. Gray Glacier may not be deployed on any testnet as a result of this. According to Ethereum engineer Tim Beiko, the term “Gray Glacier” was chosen because it ”literally” merges into another glacier.
The Ethereum Difficulty Bomb
The difficulty bomb, which has always been a part of Ethereum, rapidly increases the computational difficulty of mining the underlying token until it becomes impossible to do so. When the bomb explodes and is cleared to detonate, that means the days until the merger – Ethereum’s transition to proof-of-stake – are numbered.
While developers had not officially set a particular date for the Merge Update, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin said it could happen as soon as August if there are no major issues, or at the latest September/October. The decision to delay the difficulty bomb raises concerns that the long-awaited upgrade might take longer than expected.
