Ethereum won't ditch GPU cryptocurrency mining until much later in the year
Ethereum's move to a 100% proof-of-stake model has been delayed, buying crypto mining operations more time until the transition.
On Tuesday, ethereum core developer, Tim Beiko, confirmed on Twitter that the much-anticipated Ethereum Merge will be delayed from June to a "few months after" according to the tweet (via CoinDesk).
Ethereum Merge is the fun name the company uses for its network's transition from proof-of-work (PoW) to proof-of-stake (PoS). The reason this is a big deal is that PoW currently involves high energy costs that power enormous crypto mining operations that run night and day, which have also hogged up all the GPU stock in the last few years.
The two largest cryptocurrencies, bitcoin, and ethereum, both currently employ proof-of-work to manage transactions on their respective blockchains.
The final phase of ethereum 2.0 will be powered by proof-of-stake which uses "validators" for selecting blocks on the ethereum blockchain by "staking" ether. As their ether gets used, much like miners in proof-of-work, they get rewarded for taking part. Basically, they have to buy tokens to win blocks in the proof-of-stake model.
The big attraction for PoS is that ethereum claims it's 99% greener than PoW and easier to scale, which would in theory eliminate the need for massive crypto mining operations that have become a pretty big business, especially in rural areas of the US.
It won't be June, but likely in the few months after. No firm date yet, but we're definitely in the final chapter of PoW on EthereumApril 12, 2022
Whether the Merge is a good thing for ethereum, only time will tell since proof-of-stake on a larger scale is actually faster and more secure than the traditional mining method, which would be made obsolete, and objectively better for the environment.