Introduction
Ethereum, the world’s leading smart contract platform, has undergone one of its most significant upgrades, The Merge. This historic shift from Proof of Work (PoW) to Proof of Stake (PoS) in September 2022 marked the beginning of Ethereum’s journey toward better scalability, efficiency, and sustainability.
The Merge reduced Ethereum’s energy consumption by 99.95%, making it one of the most eco-friendly blockchains.Post-Merge, Ethereum’s inflation dropped, with ETH becoming deflationary due to burning mechanisms from EIP-1559 and Ethereum’s roadmap still has major upgrades planned to improve speed, cost, and security.
So, what’s next after The Merge? Let’s explore Ethereum’s next phases toward Ethereum 2.0.
What Did The Merge Achieve?
The Merge successfully transitioned Ethereum to Proof of Stake (PoS), meaning:
1.No More Mining – Miners were replaced by validators, who secure the network by staking ETH.
2.Lower Energy Use – Ethereum is now 99.95% more energy efficient.
3.Stronger Security – PoS reduces risks of centralization and 51% attacks.
Before The Merge, Ethereum’s energy consumption was comparable to Switzerland’s. Now, it’s similar to a small town’s power usage.
But The Merge was just the beginning, Ethereum still faces challenges like high gas fees and network congestion.
What Comes After The Merge?
Ethereum’s roadmap includes four major upgrades after The Merge:
1.The Surge – Focuses on scalability, introducing sharding to process transactions faster.
2.The Verge – Improves efficiency by reducing validator node requirements.
3.The Purge – Streamlines Ethereum’s blockchain data, making it lighter and more efficient.
4.The Splurge – A collection of final improvements to enhance performance and user experience.
Example: With The Surge, Ethereum could reach 100,000 transactions per second (TPS), making it faster than Visa.
How Will These Upgrades Impact Ethereum?
1. Lower Gas Fees & Faster Transactions
Sharding will help Ethereum scale, reducing network congestion and making transactions cheaper.
2.Enhanced Security & Decentralization
Upgrades like The Verge will make it easier for people to run validator nodes, strengthening decentralization.
3. Increased Adoption & Use Cases
A faster, cheaper Ethereum will boost DeFi, NFTs, and Web3, attracting more developers and institutions.
Example: Layer 2 solutions like Optimism and Arbitrum are already reducing gas fees, but Ethereum’s upgrades will make scaling even more efficient.
Conclusion
Ethereum’s transition to Proof of Stake was just the beginning. With scalability, security, and efficiency improvements ahead, Ethereum is positioning itself as the backbone of Web3. If successful, Ethereum 2.0 could make blockchain technology as fast and accessible as traditional financial networks.
