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The Ethereum Merge is set to occur later today with the energy-efficiency focused transition expected to have a major impact on crypto investment and adoption, experts say.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Speaking to Cointelegraph in the lead up to the Merge<\/a>, StarkWare president and co-founder Eli Ben-Sasson noted that the Ethereum Merge will be the \u201cfirst step in a process that will lead to exceedingly widespread adoption of Ethereum.\u201d<\/p>\n The immediate importance of the Merge is the dramatic effect on energy consumption.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n The Merge is expected to see Ethereum\u2019s energy cut by 99.95% compared to its current Proof-of-Work (PoW) consensus mechanism, which requires large amounts of energy to be used in a competition to solve arbitrary mathematical puzzles.<\/p>\n \u201cI think of the Merge like the development of the first solar fields,” added Ben-Sasson.<\/p>\n \u201cWe saw that we can slash the environmental impact of electricity production. We didn\u2019t say \u2018problem solved,\u2019 but rather that if we\u2019re generating electricity with less pollution, it\u2019s time to double down on efforts to use the power more sparingly.\u201d<\/p>\n Excited to never have to hear about “ommer blocks” again.<\/p>\n (ok fine I know “ommer” was meant to be a gender-neutral replacement for “uncle”, but come on, it just *sounds* like an insult for people who meditate)<\/p>\n Oh, and saving electricity. That’s cool too.<\/p>\n \u2014 vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) September 14, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Ben-Sasson believes the end result where the general population uses blockchain-based apps in many different areas of life, \u201cand as naturally as people use smartphone apps today.\u201d<\/p>\n CEO of crypto exchange Coinjar, Asher Tan says the Merge is set to change the narrative around crypto more broadly, pointing out that it\u2019s incredibly rare for a tech sector to \u201cexecute such a drastic reduction in their energy intensity.\u201d<\/p>\n “We believe that people are underselling the significance of the post-Merge 99.95% drop in energy usage,\u201d noted Tan. <\/p>\n It makes the Ethereum network far more publicly palatable and opens the door for investors and companies that had remained crypto-agnostic due to its carbon footprint.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Despite optimism about Ethereum\u2019s transition, there is still debate on whether the Merge has already been factored into Ether (ETH) price or not. <\/p>\n Charmyn Ho, head of crypto insights at crypto exchange Bybit, says their analysts have concluded there is \u201cno consensus\u201d amongst institutional investors or market makers regarding short-term trading around The Merge, but will instead be more likely to accumulate ETH and become hodlers.<\/p>\n Related: <\/strong>Only 10 hours to the Ethereum Merge: Here’s what you need to know<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Meanwhile, most within the Ethereum \u201cbubble\u201d don\u2019t appear to be concerned over whether the Merge will be a success or not. <\/p>\n Ethereum Co-Founder Joseph Lubin told Bloomberg yesterday he believes the transition<\/a> will result in very little disruption to developers and users, and will be \u201cas smooth as if your iPhone or laptop has upgraded its operating system overnight.\u201d<\/p>\n StarkWare\u2019s Ben-Sasson also sees the transition being a smooth one, suggesting the \u201cEthereum Foundation has prepared so meticulously for this moment, and inspires lots of confidence,” noting:<\/p>\n \u00a0“It will be a significant mark of success when the first block is produced by proof of stake. But this is like completing the launch of a rocket \u2014 we still have the rest of the journey ahead of us, which will pose its challenges.”<\/p>\n Lubin suggests that in his opinion, this is the third most important event<\/a> in the crypto space, behind only the development of Bitcoin and Ethereum.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n