Only 10 hours before the Ethereum merger: here's what you need to know

Ethereum Blockchain Set to Say Goodbye to Proof of Work and Welcome Proof of Stake as Mainnet Merges with Beacon Chain .

Ethereum's long-awaited transition from proof-of-work (PoW) to proof-of-stake (PoS) is upon us as the merger looms in less than 10 hours. There's a lot to consider for the broader cryptocurrency space - and here's what you need to know.

The Ethereum blockchain will move away from its energy-intensive PoW consensus mechanism as its execution layer merges with the new PoS consensus layer known as Beacon Chain.

The Beacon Chain went live in December 2020, allowing ecosystem participants to deposit or "stake" ETH to become the network's new validators, replacing the PoW miners who previously worked to process transactions, produce blocks and secure the network.

In its simplest form, fusion will allow the Ethereum network to use 99% less energy and provide greater scalability, security, and sustainability.

The Ethereum Mainnet (PoW) and Beacon Chain (PoS) operate simultaneously and will eventually merge - hence the name - ushering in a new era for the smart contract blockchain network. The entire Ethereum transaction history will carry over when the new consensus mechanism takes over the network.

As explained, users able to stake a total of 32 ETH are eligible to become individual validators of the Ethereum Beacon chain. Validators are responsible for producing random blocks and validating transactions and blocks created by other validators on the network.

Users can also participate in...