“ Christmas came early “, According to Tim Beiko, one of the developers of the Ethereum blockchain. The latter announced, on December 20, the launch of Kintsugi. It is a permanent test network, the last step towards a profound transformation of Ethereum: use of proof of stake. Anyone who wants to try Kintsugi can do so, in order to get a taste of what blockchain will be like in 2022.
Kintsugi, last step before the Ethereum revolution
Ether is the second largest currency by market capitalization, just behind Bitcoin. Faced with the growing popularity of this currency, its creators have been working for several years to develop the blockchain on which it is based. In the coming months, it will undergo a major change, which will impact the entire cryptocurrency world. This change, announced for many months, is the move from the blockchain to a proof of work system (proof of work or mining) to a proof of shake system (proof of stake).
To make this transition, called Convergence, the blockchain developers have launched a final test phase, through Kintsugi. Kintsugi should help prepare for the arrival of Ethereum 2.0 and Convergence. An experience very followed by the possibilities it could open for the world of cryptocurrencies.
Concretely, Kintsugi is a test network, which incorporates the main characteristics of the Ethereum blockchain. However, the new network brings its share of changes, introduced to the blockchain in the coming months. Kintsugi is a new version of the blockchain, which is why many refer to it as Ethereum 2.0.
It allows you to check whether the proof of stake system is functioning correctly on the blockchain. Users of this new network can now transact and use it like they use the Ethereum mainnet. ” After four ephemeral test phases, Kintsugi, a more permanent test network, is now in place! », Rejoiced Tim Beiko in a communicated.
The transition from a classic mining system to a proof of stake system. Kintsugi constitutes the last phase of full-scale testing before the final transition. No precise date has been given for this change, other than early 2022.
The transition from proof of work to proof of stake
Blockchains operate using consensus protocols. Clearly this refers to the system that ensures the proper functioning of the blockchain and prevents it from being controlled by a single entity. The nodes of a network ” get along On the state of a blockchain, that there is a consensus between these nodes. There are several systems for making consensus protocols work.
Proof of stake is one such method, while another is proof of work, also known as mining. There are several problems with mining, the most important of which is the cost. Mining cryptocurrency is extremely energy intensive, the environmental cost, but also economic, of this method, is high. It requires computers to perform calculations of great complexity, which requires a large amount of devices, but also energy.
This issue is pushing several countries to ban mining, such as Sweden who asked the European Union to ban this practice or the China who took this path. In recent months, the Kazakhstan, the second country to host the most cryptocurrency miners, is suffering an energy crisis due to mining.
Proof of stake can be described as virtual mining: there is no need to buy computers and run them to produce blocks. In this case, the user’s Ethers stocks are used to verify transactions and create a new token. This move to proof of stake is eagerly awaited by virtual currency users.
Kintsugi represents the opportunity to collect user feedback, in order to resolve the last issues before Convergence, the transition to a proof of stake system, ” The Kintsugi test network offers the community the opportunity to experiment with post-merger Ethereum and start identifying issues. Once the feedback is integrated into the client software and specifications, a final round of test networks will be launched. », Explained Tim Bakei. ” After that […] the next step is the transition from the Ethereum mainnet to proof of stake “, he added.
This transition from the second largest cryptocurrency in the world is extremely important. Abandoning mining is strategic. In addition to the desire to reduce consumption, this will in the future prevent big names from criticizing or leaving the digital currency, which would impact its value. The environmental cost of mining, for example, is what drove Elon musk to abandon Bitcoin. Finally, the stakes are high for minors, which are likely to make less money with Ethereum, if not at all, once the transition is complete.