Ethereum (ETH) is still the largest altcoin in the crypto market. The network recently went through a major update to switch to the proof-of-stake (PoS) protocol. What are the effects of this update? In this article, we look at some of the positive and negative developments resulting from the Merge.
Average Ethereum block times are falling
First, a positive effect. According to data from Ycharts, the average time that transaction blocks are added to the blockchain has decreased significantly. Before the Merge a block was added on average every 14 seconds, immediately after the Merge this dropped to the current level of 12 seconds.
This shows that the Ethereum network has become faster so that it can basically handle more transactions. All of this seems to have to do with the fact that ethereum miners are no longer the party to verify transactions. This task is now performed by strikers.
It should be noted that the purpose of the Merge is not to make transactions faster. The update only concerns a major change to the consensus protocol. Nevertheless, the above development is a nice side effect.
Cons Ethereum Merge
Not everything is rosy and moonshine. For example, one of the adverse effects of the Merge is that Ethereum now suffers from centralization. Earlier, the ethereum news reported that only a few parties have a huge finger in the pie when it comes to processing transactions.
Shortly after the Merge, the first signs of centralization were visible. Of the first 1,000 transaction blocks after the Merge, 420 were processed by two parties. Centralization can be a problem for Ethereum once the validators have to comply with certain laws and regulations. This can then lead to censorship of certain transactions.