Key highlights:
- The Ethereum project is moving from Proof-of-Work to Proof-of-Stake
- The Ethereum 2.0 deposit contract was launched recently
- Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin staked 3,200 ETH in the contract
The second generation of Ethereum, also known as Ethereum 2.0, is currently in development. Ethereum is moving over to Proof-of-Stake in order to circumvent the downsides of Proof-of-Work consensus designs. Proof of Stake (PoS) saves more energy, provides better performance and doesn’t need expensive hardware and equipment.
Vitalik Buterin commits 3,200 ETH to Ethereum 2.0
The deposit contract address for Ethereum 2.0 was launched recently, and it allows users to stake their ETH in anticipation of Ethereum 2.0. The deposit contract address is making progress, and it includes over 49,000 ETH at the moment. EtherScan indicates that 3,200 ETH from the mentioned figure belongs to Vitalik Buterin, who is a co-founder of the Ethereum project. This contribution’s worth is around $1.45 million given current Ethereum prices.
Buterin believes the deposit contract will attract more people over time. At the moment, a lot of ETH coins are in cold storage, and as soon as the coins’ owners trust Ethereum 2.0 and its security, more ETH will flow to the deposit contract address.
The deposit contract requires 524,288 ETH to be staked by 16,384 validators. December 1 is the earliest date that the genesis of Ethereum 2.0 can start, but it will only represent Phase 0 Ethereum 2.0. Buterin’s contribution made positive headlines, and attracted more attention to the deposit contract.
If we look back to the ETH sale in 2015, participation fluctuated heavily during the sale process. Deposit contract address represents the first step in moving from Proof-of-Work to Proof-of-Stake. It is an exciting transition, and if it is done successfully, Ethereum will be able to deliver a much better user experience in the future.
Once 524,288 ETH are staked, the Beacon Chain will go live. The Beacon Chain is an entirely new blockchain that uses Proof-of-Stake, and supports the entirely new ecosystem of Ethereum 2.0 – to use an analogy, the Beacon Chain will be the spine of Ethereum 2.0.
Developers started Medalla, the final public testnet for Ethereum 2.0, in August. and there are no other testnets until Ethereum 2 launch. This multi-client testnet is an environment for testing operations of Phase 0.
