Ethereum's Ropsten Testnet to 'Merge' Next Month in Preparation for Proof-of-Stake

cryptonews.com:

Ethereum (ETH)'s Ropsten public testnet, which allows for blockchain development testing before deployment on the mainnet, is estimated to undergo "the Merge" on June 8 in preparation for the main Ethereum blockchain to switch to proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus.

Ethereum DevOps engineer Parathi Jayanathi submitted a pull request for the Ropsten testnet Merge configuration code on Monday, which suggests that the code is ready to be implemented.

The Merge is Ethereum's long-awaited upgrade when the current Ethereum Mainnet will merge with the beacon chain PoS system.

So far, there have been multiple tests to investigate how the merge would function. Just last month, Ethereum developers began testing how the switch would work on a shadow fork.

One of the final checks would be to test how the merge would work on Ethereum's main public testnet. As such, the Ropsten public testnet is seen as the best replication of the Ethereum Mainnet as it follows a similar network structure, enabling developers to test their work in a live setting.

The Ropsten public testnet undergoes the merge in two steps. First, a genesis version of the consensus layer is created, which is slated to happen on May 30. And then the Ropsten testnet goes through the merge.

"Merging Ropsten is a huge testing milestone towards Ethereum's mainnet merge later this year," said Preston Van Loon, an Ethereum core developer at Prysmatic Labs.

In mid-April, Ethereum developer Tim Beiko said that the merge is now expected a “few months after June.” He added: “No firm date yet, but we’re definitely in the final chapter of PoW [proof-of-work] on Ethereum."

At 7:15 UTC, Ethereum is changing hands around USD 1,945, down by 3% over the past 24 hours, 6% over the past week, and 36%