Another important step towards the transition of Ethereum to the Proof-of-Stake (PoS) algorithm is almost done. The merging process of Sepolia with Beacon Chain has been started. Meanwhile, the crypto market’s general decline affects ETH quotations, which are momentarily falling below $900.
The merge of the Sepolia testnet with Beacon Chain has been started in preparation for Ethereum’s transition to PoS. It was announced on Twitter by Nethermind. The exact timeline for Sepolia’s merge with Beacon Chain is unknown, but the process is already underway.
After merging with Beacon Chain, Sepolia, which previously operated on Proof-of-Work, will completely switch to the Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus algorithm. Therefore, the Sepolia and Beacon Chain merger will provide valuable technical information to Ethereum developers about the upcoming merge, acting as a testnet transition of the core Ethereum network to PoS.
The Sepolia testnet was rolled out in October 2021, and its merge with Beacon Chain is next after Ropsten, which already successfully transitioned to Proof-of-Stake in early June. A merge with Beacon Chain and Goerli testnet are next in line.
According to Ethereum Core Developer Tim Beiko, the Sepolia network will gradually replace Ropsten, which will eventually become obsolete. Beiko urged app developers on Ropsten and Rinkeby to migrate to Sepolia or Goerli, which are planned to be supported after the final merge.
Ethereum CEO previously outlined what specific modifications await developers in the operation of smart contracts after the merge of Ethereum with Beacon Chain, urging “to be prepared.”
Ethereum’s Current Market Position
Since Ropsten’s merge with Beacon Chain, ETH quotes have begun to crawl downward despite the community’s bullish sentiment. So, according to CoinMarketCap, the price of ETH has fallen 37% since June 8 and is $1,157 as of 10:00 (GMT+3) June 21, 2022.
Recall that the crypto market cap fell below $1 billion, and the fluctuation of Ethereum quotes was also significant against the backdrop of the overall slump. On June 15, ETH was momentarily down to $1,026, but on June 18, it was even lower than $900. On June 19, ETH was trading below $1,000 in the morning, but it rose to $1,150 by the end of the day, and since then, it hasn’t dropped below $1,000.
Some analysts’ forecasts, predicting a bearish trend for ETH, seem to be confirmed. For example, crypto analyst il Capo Of Crypto says that ETH has not yet reached the bottom, and its price can fall to the $700-800 mark. PostyXBT advised being cautious about ETH’s recent price rise.
While most investors are concerned about the future value of ETH, community members on Reddit have discussed possible scenarios for the asset that could positively impact its price. The community thinks that upgrading ETH’s user IDs, switching to a trust-free universal authentication, and creating a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) around ETH could help the coin reach a market cap of $500 billion.
