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The first phase of the next-generation proof-of-stake (PoS) Ethereum 2.0 is now available starting at 12:00 UTC on Tuesday, according to Beaconcha.in.
A generalized blockchain to decentralize computer-based applications – from iPhone games to government bonds – Eth 2.0 has been under construction since the genesis of the current proof-of-work (PoW) network in 2015.
Tuesday’s launch concludes the opening act, or “phase 0”, of the Ethereum consensus mechanism transition, which will see the network – whose native cryptocurrency, ether, is worth $ 70 billion by market cap – radically change the way it settles payments on the go.
Learn more: Everything you need to know about Ethereum 2.0
“The launch of the Beacon Chain is a huge achievement and lays the foundation for Ethereum’s most scalable, secure and sustainable home,” Ethereum Foundation researcher Danny Ryan told CoinDesk in an email. “There is still a lot of work to be done, but today we celebrate”.
The Beacon Chain will be the backbone of a new Ethereum blockchain, a network destined to keep pace with PayPal (PYPL) and Visa (V) in terms of processing speed, rivaling them in terms of transparency and payment purposes.
Eth 2.0 has at least two other technical hurdles to reach its ever-changing timeline: dynamically breaking the Ethereum PoS blockchain into multiple datasets called “fragments” and adopting Rollup, a throughput solution for decentralized applications (dapps).
The short-term functionality of the Beacon Chain is quite limited.
Like the handful of previous testnets, Eth 2.0 participants now help “store and manage the registry of validators,” according to ConsenSys, Ethereum’s infrastructure provider. However, accounts and transfers remain blocked until at least Phase 2 as the Eth 1.x blockchain continues in parallel. In other words, Eth 2.0 will not be usable for the payment of the electricity bill until 2022 at the earliest.
Before Eth 2.0: the story of Ethereum 101
Ethereum is the creation of Russian-Canadian developer Vitalik Buterin, also the founder of Bitcoin Magazine and a member of numerous alternative currency projects such as Mastercoin. First announced in 2013 at a Bitcoin conference in Miami, Florida, Buterin envisioned a network capable of leveraging Bitcoin’s blockchain architecture for purposes greater than a simple digital currency, well outside the boundaries of original intent of the pseudonymous bitcoin developer Satoshi Nakamoto.
As demonstrated in his early writings on the subject, Buterin argued that a PoS consensus mechanism would be central to this new type of blockchain. Buterin has long argued that PoS offers greater long-term security guarantees than the Bitcoin-based PoW blockchain. Many Ethereum developers also prefer PoS over Bitcoin’s PoW due to environmental concerns.
Under the auspices of the Ethereum Foundation, the core specification of Eth 2.0 written by Buterin and other developers has been coded in multiple programming languages into what are called clients.
Learn more: CoinDesk is starting an Ethereum 2.0 node. Here’s how to follow our journey
The decision to program Eth 2.0 in multiple languages remains a major reason for its patient progress towards launch. In fact, Ethereum developers have shifted timelines over the past five years due to the frustration of many investors.
Starting the Beacon Chain
Tuesday’s launch, however, is the culmination of not just years of ongoing blockchain research, but a more recent push spurred by investor anxiety. A perceived lack of development reached a feverish peak last summer as further delays called into question the launch of the Beacon Chain in 2020.
Ethereum community expectations were “strong and clear,” Ethereum Foundation researcher Justin Drake said in July. tweet, targeting the “genesis of phase 0 in 2020”. Since Tuesday, the goal has been achieved.
A flurry of customer activity followed Drake’s tweet in preparation for the mainnet launch: the Medalla testnet on July 22, followed by Spadina and Zinken between late September and early October, which ended with the Pyrmont implementation on November 18th.
The long-awaited deposit agreement for Eth 2.0 was released on November 4 by the Ethereum Foundation after a further delay in October, with a targeted genesis date of December 1. For once, Ethereum was on time.
To launch, the deposit agreement needed 524,288 ETH seven days prior to the genesis date. Although large amounts of ETH were included in the contract, including about $ 1.4 million from Buterin himself, it took nearly two weeks to complete the contract.
However, the terms of the contract were met on November 23 – nearly six years before the day of Ethereum’s first Devcon conference in Berlin, developer Lefteris Karapetsas pointed out. Twitter.
The last week has provided customers with an additional buffer to adjust to last minute specifications. At the time of publication, 880,992 ETH worth approximately $ 542.7 million are currently locked in the deposit agreement, according to CoinDesk pricing data.
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